CHILDREN IN NEED

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Children In Need facts: When did it start, how much has it raised and much more

The televised appeal began in 1980 and saw Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Ester Ranzten presented the show which raised £1 million that year.

The first ever charity broadcast with the BBC happened in 1927 and it was a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day, this raised £1,143 which was split between four prominent children’s charities.

The first televised appeal began in 1955 and it was called the Children’s Hour Christmas Appeal, the stars of the show were the yellow sock puppet Sooty Bear and Harry Corbett fronting it. In 1980 when it was transferred to a new format as a telethon, it appeared as a series of short segments in between the evening’s programming.

Pudsey bear turned on the Christmas Lights in Covent Garden this year (Picture: Jeff Moore)

Terry Wogan remained the main presenter of the telethon until 2014 and was always joined by a diverse line-up that included Joanna Lumley, Sue Cook, John Craven, Andi Peters, Gaby Roslin, Natasha Kaplinsky, Tess Daly and Fearne Cotton.

Pudsey Bear was created in 1985 by BBC graphic designer Joanne Lane. The bear was named after the designer’s hometown of Pudsey, West Yorkshire, where her grandfather was mayor. There is now a reproduction of Pudsey near the town centre.

Longstanding presenter of the appeal Sir Terry Wogan with Pudsey the bear (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Pudsey made his television debut in 1985 when Terry introduced him as the new brown cuddly mascot for the charity. The design was amended the following year to the yellow bear with the red spotted bandage.

Over the years Pudsey’s style has not changed much, he wore a hat in 2004 to celebrate the appeal’s silver jubilee, and in 2007 he has a revamp to give him some brighter colours. Pudsey Bear and the Children In Need appeal is up there with the high-profile fundraising events in Britain such as Red Nose Day and Sport Relief in support of Comic Relief.

The BBC Children In Need appeal has raised £800 million so far and with the appeal every November you can never miss out on a chance to show your support. You can donate online or participate in the fundraising throughout the show.You can purchase you Pudsey ears online from the BBC Children In Need online shop for £4, and some of the proceeds will go to charity.

The money donated to BBC Children In Need will go to support projects working with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.The appeal currently supports around 2,600 projects that are working with children facing poverty and deprivation, disabilities and children who are victims of abuse or neglect. Money raised in 2016 helped to change the lives of 490,000 disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking