2020 UK telethon for COVID-19 pandemic
The Big Night In is a British telethon that was broadcast by BBC One from 7pm to 10pm on 23 April 2020 to support those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first joint initiative between two BBC telethon charities, Children in Need and Comic Relief. By the end of the programme, over £27.3 million had been raised. The British government promised to match all public donations if the minimum of £20 million was reached.
Personnel.
The telethon's showrunner and executive producer for the BBC was Peter Davey. The presenters, using "The One Show"'s studio in Broadcasting House, London, included Lenny Henry, with Matt Baker and Davina McCall for the first hour and Zoe Ball and Paddy McGuinness from 8 pm. They maintained social distancing, while everyone else appearing live took part remotely, via video links. There were pre-recorded comedy appearances by Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Jack Whitehall, Catherine Tate, Romesh Ranganathan, Miranda Hart and others, as well as solo music performances from Sam Smith and Celeste.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge made a surprise appearance, in a sketch with Stephen Fry, shown just before the 8 pm "Clap for Our Carers".
Line-up.
Featured performances included:
There were also appearances from Jenna Coleman, Tim Cook, Judi Dench, Sting, Rishi Sunak and others, with some repeating the UK government's directives for behaviour during the lockdown.
References.
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