Lenny Henry

Shakespeare - Lenny Henry: A farce to be reckoned with

Lenny Henry is laughing all the way to the National Theatre. The stand-up comic is following up on his triumph playing Shakespeare's Othello by taking on the Bard's The Comedy Of Errors.

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.

It's Red Nose Day, which means only one thing: rip-roaring laughter and top telly treats, presented by TV favourites Lenny Henry, Fearne Cotton, Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross and Claudia Winkleman.

Highlights include a feast of unmissable sketches from the likes of James Corden, the cast of Outnumbered, Miranda Hart, Harry Hill, Steve Coogan and Armstrong & Miller.

There are also Comic Relief specials of Masterchef and The Choir and unforgettable music performances from some of the biggest names in the industry. The night is sprinkled with plenty of reminders of why it's all happening: to raise money to change the lives of extremely vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa.

Get your credit card out, make the phone call, pledge the money. Then you can sit back, guilt-free, and enjoy the funniest evening on telly since oooh, probably the last Red Nose Day. Anyone who's anyone from the world of comedy is on BBC TV tonight. There's funny stuff by Lenny Henry, Graham Norton, Peter Kay, Harry Hill and James Corden, and a road trip in the company of The Inbetweeners around the rudest places in Britain. There's also a mini episode of Doctor Who featuring two Amy Ponds, a special edition of Outnumbered and a Downton Abbey spoof. Adele sings live, and in a celebrity MasterChef Miranda Hart and Claudia Winkleman go head to head, which ought to be a physical impossibility. We also get a special version of The Choir, Gareth Malone's foolhardy bid to get celebrity chefs to sing Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up. In between all this are sobering film clips reminding us what it's all about and a ten-minute edition of EastEnders resolving the disturbing story about teenage prostitution.

The build-up has been going on for weeks with everything from a "rude road trip" by the stars of The Inbetweeners to Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton's daring Battersea Power Station highwire act, and a gruelling challenge that saw nine stars trek for five days across the Kaisut desert in Kenya. So, what can top that as the bi-annual charity fundraiser takes over the airwaves tonight?

Well, with a presentation team that includes Michael McIntyre, Lenny Henry, Graham Norton, Fearne Cotton, Jack Whitehall, Kevin Bridges, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, James Corden and Jack Dee there are certainly lots of laughs in prospect. There's a host of one-off sketches to look forward to from Miranda Hart, Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, Armstrong & Miller and the cast of Outnumbered. There are also Comic Relief spin-offs of MasterChef and The Choir, and special outings for Doctor Who and EastEnders.

As well as all that, there are performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry, including George Michael and Boyzone, and reminders why it's all happening, with reports on how the money raised in previous years has benefited the underprivileged in Africa and here in the UK. Of course, amid all the chaos, everybody's eyes will be fixed on the cash counter clocking up every pound raised by volunteers and fundraisers. In 2009 Comic Relief raised £80 million.

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Q&A: Lenny Henry

Who'd play me in a film of my life? Trevor McDonald.