David Walliams

The Best of Comic Relief 2011

Do you remember when Comic Relief's fundraising was mostly restricted to buying silly red noses, cheap T-shirts and a novelty pop song in the run-up to the live telethon? That still happens, but these days you can't escape Comic Relief for weeks, sometimes months, before the big day itself, and it's subsidized by loads of celebrity-led specials. This year we've had the return of Let's Dance For Comic Relief every Saturday (celebs reenacting famous dances for phone votes), the Red Nose Desert Trek five-day endurance (celebs walk across Kenya for cash), [Chris Moyles' Longest Ever Radio Show (52 hours, raising £2.6m from listeners), 24 Hour Panel People (David Walliams enduring a day-long marathon of panel show guesting), a week-long Comic Relief Does Glee Club special for kid's TV, and probably a few more I've forgotten.

Comedy, music and good causes - it can only be the show that makes you laugh until you give.

Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Ant and Dec and Armstrong and Miller are all doing something funny for money this year, along with the casts of The Inbetweeners, Outnumbered and Miranda.

We can also look forward to a specially shot mini-episode of Doctor Who, and James Corden will be back with the third instalment of his iconic Smithy trilogy - calling in favours from some very big names in showbiz.

Corden will also be one fifth of Fake That - a tribute band which boasts the talents of David Walliams, Alan Carr, Catherine Tate and John Bishop.

Never fear, though, the real Take That will be performing too. In fact, the night's going to be awash with boy-bands, as JLS are in the studio and it's The Wanted's turn to do the official Comic Relief single, Gold Forever.

The music line-up also includes chart-busting Adele, Annie Lennox, Elbow and Gareth Malone, who will be trying to turn some TV chefs into a Comic Relief choir.

Your hosts through this comedy marathon will be Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Graham Norton, Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton.

There have been 12 Red Nose Days since 1988, helping to raise more than £500million to help needy people in the UK and abroad.

There'll also be films from David Tennant, Jack Dee, Ruth Jones and Comic Relief stalwart Lenny Henry, each providing frequent reminders of how your money can help change people's lives for the better.

Twenty-Four Hour Panel People provides edited highlights of David Walliams quiz show marathon on behalf of Comic Relief, broadcast live over the Internet the previous weekend.

Episode one, covering the first six hours, encompassed the shows Would I Lie To You?, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Just A Minute. At this early stage in proceedings there was still a modicum of wit on display, and few signs of physical or mental exhaustion.

The only aberrant behaviour was David Walliams, who grew visibly camper as the night drew on and threatened to morph into the late Frankie Howerd. It remains to be seen if sleep deprivation will complete or arrest the metamorphosis.

Stars including Walliams to voice Tate Movie Project

David Walliams and Miranda Hart are among the celebrities lending their voices to a new children's film.

David Walliams flies solo from comedy compadre Matt Lucas to anchor a marathon of mirth for Comic Relief. A nightly residence on BBC3 till Thursday offers highlights from a one-day panel show staged last week, featuring rounds from Have I Got News for You and many more. The gig for giggles will also revive classic shows, reuniting David Frost with Looooyd Groooossman for celebrity pad-peeking Through the Keyhole. After his charity Channel swim and bikeathon, it's another endurance test for Walliams, who even squeezes in a spot of Generation Game participation. "Didn't he do well!"

Comic Relief sets world record for joke-telling

David Walliams wasn't the only person breaking ground for Comic Relief over the weekend; hundreds of British folk flocked to Maidstone on Saturday to set the Guinness World Record for telling cheesy jokes.

David Walliams completes 24 hour live broadcast

Comedian David Walliams has finished the UK's first live 24-hour panel show, in aid of Comic Relief.

David Walliams addresses Come Fly With Me racism row

When David Walliams and Matt Lucas launched their last TV show 'Come Fly With Me', they found themselves in the midst of a controversial racism row, so what did David Walliams make of it all? The star told The Sun's "Buzz" magazine.

David Walliams to play mole-alien on Doctor Who

Camp funnyman David Walliams is to star in Doctor Who - as a cowardly alien who looks like Mole from Wind in the Willows.