Comic Relief

Lenny Henry knighted for services to comedy & charity

Comedian and actor Lenny Henry is to be knighted for services to charity and comedy.

Red Nose Day USA raises over $10 million

The inaugural Red Nose Day USA telethon has raised over $10 million in donations so far.

Red Nose Day USA's total reaches more than $21 million

Red Nose Day USA raised more than $21 million dollars for children around the world on Thursday (May 22).

After 30 years, 'Red Nose Day' finally lands in America

The UK institution known as Red Nose Day has landed in America. Who knew the flight from Great Britain to America would take right at three decades. The 25+ year staple of a night of BBC One programming and the UK's #1 television fundraising effort finally makes its way across the pond and will be broadcast tonight on NBC.

Russell Brand felt "compromised" by Comic Relief

Russell Brand has reportedly said that he felt "compromised" by taking part in Comic Relief. According to The Sun, the Red Nose Day comedian told the audience at his show at London's Proud Archivist over the weekend that he feels the charity fundraiser places too much "burden" on people.

One project that has mixed humour with serious subject matter for the last thirty years is Comic Relief which aired it's bi-annual Red Nose Day last Friday. As well as the climax of both The Bake-Off and The People's Strictly; Red Nose Day saw the return of many comedy icons. The sketch that the team seemed to be most proud of was the Little Britain clip in which David Walliams' Lou was now the carer for Professor Steven Hawking. However I wasn't a particular fan and by the clip's third airing I'd grown tired of seeing Hawking become a transformer and finish off both Lou and Catherine Tate's Irish nun. The more successful returns came courtesy of Mr. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley with the latter presenting a cameo-laden sketch in which Geraldine meets her rivals for the position of the first female bishop. There were two sketches that I particularly enjoyed the first of which featured a host of famous faces vying to become Britain's newest national treasure. Featuring everyone from Salman Rushdie to The Chuckle Brothers; this sketch was amusing throughout and had a great pay-off. Similarly I felt that Comic Relief's take on Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen skit was inspired with a quartet of the organisation's famous fundraisers competing to see who had the most gruelling experience. There were other little moments that made me chuckle most notably when voiceover man Matt Berry came onto to stage to argue with host Claudia Winkleman. However, Comic Relief isn't really about the sketches or the laughter but rather the money that's raised at the end of the night. The final scene, in which Lenny Henry revealed that the organisation has raised more than a billion pounds over the past thirty years, was one of the most heartwarming TV moments I've seen all year. Henry's pride in what Comic Relief has done over the years was brilliant to see and it just proves what the British public can achieve when they put their minds to something.

Russell Brand's foul-mouthed rant about Comic Relief

Russell Brand launched into a foul-mouthed rant about Comic Relief just days after helping to co-host the BBC programme.

Red Nose Day to make US debut this year

Red Nose Day is to make its debut on US television later this year.

Comic Relief 2015 review

Every year, countless celebrities dedicate time and effort into creating original and funny material in aid of Comic Relief, and this year was no different. There has been an array of exciting new programmes over the past few weeks and I've picked a few of my favourites to share.

Richard Curtis & Lenny Henry thank everyone at the BBC

"Without the BBC, we would have been a group of dodgy comedians wishing we could help a bit in 1985"