Comic Relief

Comic Relief breaks £1 billion barrier after 30 years

Comic Relief has officially raised over £1 billion for charity since the project started 30 years ago, with £78,082,988m already achieved for this year's fundraiser.

TV review: Comic Relief 2015

I think staging the evening at the Palladium rather than at the BBC helped. It had more of a feel of a live gig rather than a TV recording.

The secret of Comic Relief's enduring success

We look at why Red Nose Day is so powerful and how it cuts across generations.

The culmination of two weeks' worth of wacky and earnest programming, this charity telethon looks set to be as jape-strewn as ever. Dermot O'Leary's dance marathon concludes, there's a new Mr Bean, and Professor Stephen Hawking performs with David Walliams. All in all, a Friday night in the pub looks more irresistible than ever, but don't forget to put your hand in your pocket first.

Radio Times review

The last time we saw Mr Bean he was bringing the house down at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, playing one note of Chariots of Fire. Can he (alongside Ben Miller and Rebecca Front) possibly be as funny for 2015's Comic Relief?

Anyone who's anyone from the world of comedy is on BBC One for this comedy marathon. Dawn French dusts off her dog collar to become the Bishop of Dibley (despite some famous rivals); and David Walliams gets in a right kerfuffle as patronising carer Lou, who appears to have a new charge - Professor Stephen Hawking. Miranda Hart, Stephen Fry, Russell Brand and Cardinal Burns also pop by.

There are stunts, dares and the unmissable sight of Dermot O'Leary dancing his socks off (will he survive this danceathon?).

In between all this hilarity are sobering film clips reminding us what this is really all about: donating money.

10 best Comic Relief moments

As Comic Relief returns to raise more money for a good cause, we look back at some of its best moments.

'How to write a hit charity song' for Comic Relief

Sam Smith and John Legend have got competition for their Comic Relief charity single in the form of Brett Domino.

Mark Watson: 27 hour gig initial debrief

People often express surprise that I'm able to stay on a stage for 27 hours, and ask how it's possible. I generally explain that a large part of the show isn't really what you'd call stand-up comedy.

Comic Relief: Face the Funny, review

After a week of Clarkson-shaped hysteria, the BBC has given us quite enough melodrama already. Comic Relief felt like precisely the opposite of that endless soap opera: humble and honest in its aims and, for all the glitter and showboating, free of egomania. It was sweet, straightforward fun and will surely have packed viewers off to bed with broad smiles and a feelgood glow.

Richard Curtis on his 30 years of Comic Relief

Today, on Red Nose Day 2015, Richard talks us through his own Comic Relief highlights over three decades...