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Children in Need 2020...but not as you know it!

Updated: Apr 8, 2023

Hey all!


Although 2020 has been quite a difficult year so far, what better way to bring a smile to people's lives by bringing some of the best talent from television, music and wherever you can imagine, for one big Children in Need show! (which will be slightly different to what you will have seen before!). Tonight the show was hosted by Mel Giedroyc, Stephen Mangan, Alex Scott & Chris Ramsey!

Today marks the 40th year of support for Children in Need, which means it's going to be one MASSIVE night in terms of celebrations! And let's see how much we can earn for charity!


To start the show, KidsBop took to the stage to perform a medley of classic songs of the last 40 years in music. Some of the songs included 'I Gotta Feeling' by The Black Eyed Peas and 'Dance Monkey' by Tones & I!

It was a lovely throwback to some of the greatest songs over the years!


The first story on the show was of Skylar who got really close to his Grandad, who unfortunately passed away in 2019. He got very down and was struggling in all aspects of life; but joined 'The Wave Project' which helps children that feel lost become resilient and confident within themselves!


Alex Scott mentioned that there are over 200 projects that are currently ongoing, that help support children and young people with any problems that they are going through, especially with the last several months and the lockdowns that we have all been through. You're also able to donate and raise money by texting FIVE, TEN, TWENTY, THIRTY or FOURTY to 70701 or call 03457 33 22 33


There was a little video tape shown where actor MacKenzie Crook was dressed up in a Scarecrow outfit, telling you how you could donate to Children in Need!


Diddy Dick and Dom then interviewed Diddy Little Mix in a funny little skit where they revealed one thing they loved! It was a very funny little sketch which involved Leigh-Anne's long arms, and see Diddy Dick and Dom asking for some money with Jade replying that they couldn't have any, but they would definitely give some to Children in Need! There was a rendition of one of their singles 'Shout Out To My Eggs' and Dick and Dom got in the band!

We were then shown some home made videos which were in collaboration with McFly after the release of their newest single 'Happiness'; and also to raise funds for BBC Children in need! Included in the videos were people from the London Ambulance service, teachers and students and Kylie Minogue among others!


'The Rickshaw Challenge' was the next feature on the show where 6 children by the name of Lewis, Rosie, Sarah, Owen, Jim and Lauren got together to face their fears, to complete a cycling challenge that raised quite a lot of money for charity - it had to stop earlier in the year as one of the production team caught coronavirus, but they were able to complete the challenge virtually!

We were then introduced to the Children in Need single of 2020 which was directed by Paloma Faith and Niall Rodgers among other musicians and singers! Paloma admits that she feels a lot of sympathy and emotion for what children have gone through, and the charity helps to promote the heroism of the children who are able to teach people that they can be the best they can be! Niall added that watching these children every year inspires you to better yourself, and when playing the song, he was happy he was able to play from his own house...with the neighbours overlooking to see what he was doing also! And it all happened for a great cause. The official music video will also be released at 8:50pm.


There was another story from an inspirational girl called Shannon who was born with multiple disabilities including being paralysed from the waist down, faced with challenges everyday. Her mum admits 'When she's good she's good, but when she's down it's scary'. Luckily her life was changed when she was given the opportunity to go into a children's hospice and is now regularly dancing or singing!


The world's best P.E teacher of 2020, Joe Wicks MBE was mentioned in the show as he completed his 24 hours of exercise. He got wishes and messages from celebrities including Katie Piper, Sam Smith and Melanie C among others! He admits that it was an amazing production and that he hopes the people who watched it on BBC iPlayer enjoyed it! Joe managed to raise a total of £2,108,229! After Joe's massive accomplishment, especially during the first lockdown where he did daily P.E lessons in order to get people moving and staying fit...Nelly, a Blue Peter viewer loved the lessons admitting that she didn't miss a lesson. She wanted him to be 'recognised in a special way' and therefore he received a Gold Blue Peter Badge!

Sam and Mark got a gunge in the name of Children in Need! The tables turned from them dishing out all the pranks!


Up next we saw a special episode of 'The Repair Shop' where we saw Happy, the Dwarf that was passed on from Olivia's Grandad to Olivia as a lucky toy that helped him on the front line but also as a 'good luck' to Olivia for all the operations that she was due to have at Great Ormond Street Hospital...and we'll see the final results later on in the show!


The next video tape was delivered by Tess Daly, one of the hosts of Strictly Come Dancing who went from the dance floor to showcasing the stories of inspirational children. The children were all united with their joint interest in singing; joining 'The Harmonies Of Hope Choir' and singing a rendition of 'This Is Me' from The Greatest Showman. The children admitted that they feel accepted and they're happy with what the new opportunity did for them; bringing those young people together!

Up next was the Children in Need Choir with their musical cover of Coldplay's 'Fix You' in different areas across the UK including Elstree, Glasgow, Stonehenge, the Ely Cathedral!, North Wales, Cardiff and Belfast!


Doctor Who's Jodie Whittakar and Mandip Gill then showed us a video tape where they were giving a prize away to one lucky fan; including lots of signed merchandise and a tour inside the tardis.


Part 2 of 'The Repair Shop' to see if Olivia's toy dwaft 'Happy' can become the 'fairest of them all'. Not my words, I quoted the voiceover! The makeover was dramatic, and 'Happy' looks a lot more happy now! He's now got his blue cap back...with as many of the original features kept in tact!


The next video tape was introduced by Kym Marsh who introduced 'The Garage' which is a creative venue where children can get involved in creative ways to raise money and they raised over £1,600,000!


'Bad Cinderella' was the next performance by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Andrew Lloyd Webber from the upcoming musical 'Cinderella' iwhich will begin in April 2021!

Marcus Rashford, the 19 year old football sensation was the next celebrity to speak about something he was passionate in fighting for, especially during the coronavirus time. 'The Peek' are an organisation in Glasgow, Scotland - Possibilities for Each and Every Kid who help provide food and drink for those who are unable to afford it themselves. Rashford worked with the company to help get free healthy and nutritious food for young people.


All the way from the U.S.A, there was a special performance from the Canadian singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes with his new single 'Wonder' from an upcoming album!

Matt Baker and the rest of the Children in Need team from the Rickshaw Challenge were able to complete the rest of their miles remotely...In total, they were able to ride 830 miles, raising a total of £4,750,819! In the 10 years of the Rickshaw Challenge, they''ve raised a total of over £40,000,000!


Fleur East announced a project that Boots were taking part in, changing from real life to digital content, selling their own Children in Need face masks and also going contactless in their stores! They raised over £750,000!


Sir Andy Murray takes on Peter Crouch in a game of paddel tennis and I'll be honest in saying that it was very funny to watch, but if it was a proper game of tennis, Andy Murray would have won easily!

After the first half of the show, Chris Ramsey and Alex Scott were able to reveal how much has been raised SO FAR...and the total was £18,459,803!


Mel Giedroyc and Stephen Mangan then took over the show and became the seocnd half hosts of the show!


'The show and the sequins must go on' with a special Strictly Come Dancing dance takeover for BBC's Children in Need! Over to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman and their video tape! There was an amazing collaboration of the celebrities and professionals from the 2020 show along with members of the public! #KeepGiving


It was over to 10 year old Betsy who was able to share her story! As the youngest of three children, she went from being taken care of, to taking care of both her parents who caught coronavirus and her brother Lucas who can't speak or hear! 'Little Harbour' were there to take care of Lucas for over a month and also the rest of the family as well.


With the Oasis classic 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out', the BBc Children in Need music video features artists including Cher, Niall Rodgers, Melanie C, Ella Eyre, Clean Bandit, Rebecca Ferguson, Robbie Williams, Ava Max, Paloma Faith, Kylie Minogue, KSI and Bryan Adams among others!


Danny Dyer hosts a one off episode of 'The Wall' with soap stars Tony Clay and Roger Griffiths (with the voiceover provided by Angela Rippon)...after 2 questions, they won £0, but after the next 3 questions, they were able to raise a total of £9,313!

It was the turn of Joe Swash to say a massive 'Thank you' to Greggs after raising over £303,000 after the sale of their sweet cakes and cookies!

Tom David a.k.a King Gary was the next to feature in a short video trying to get Romesh Ranganathan a.k.a Stuart to donate to Children in Need! With a little rendition of Jessie J's 'Price Tag', this was another funny sketch which also helped to raise money for charity!


Up next was a commemoration to the late Sir Terry Wogan after all the hard work he did for young people, Bryan Pitt was able to follow on in his footsteps, and was nominated and won fundraiser of the year after raising money to help his son Stuart who sadly passed away, but he wanted to continue fundraising...but due to the sound issues, we couldn't her him say thank you!


The cast of 'The Goes Wrong Show' were up next with a scene called 'A Romantic Dinner Before 10pm'. That was such a relatable performance with so many laughs, at everything that the general public have been experiencing for the last few months! This was brilliant!


The 6 Queens from SIX, The Musical were up next to perform with their song 'Divorced Beheaded Survived'.

It was over to the children to say another big thank you to HSBC! The staff have been hosting sports days and spins on their chairs amongst other things! Thank you! I knew there was a reason I decided to bank with them!


The next story was of Louisa the Ballerina! At the end of 2016, Louisa's mum Lindsay noticed a lump and it was revealed to be cancerous...A centre called 'Maggie's which was 100m away from the hospital that he mum was rushed into, decided to open up during the hours which they should have been closed, to allow Louise and her mum to spend their last hours together; the 'little bit of light in the dark' as said by Louisa's dad! Unfortunately Lindsay passed away a few months later, but I'm sure she enjoyed her final hours with her daughter and is watching down on her family!


Country File have raised over £3,000,000 and it was over to Nick Knowles to reveal how much they were able to raise from the show D.I.Y S.O.S, and the total was £1,093,082


Gary Barlow was up next with over 140 items from his collection of memorabilia! This includes Gold discs, trophies...and a lot of signed items!

There was a little section called 'Pudsey News' where they shouted out some of the amazing companies who have been helping to raise money; including DFS who were hosting a 'Give Me 5' where customers could donate £5 and recieve the total of their items back. Other companies included Toyota who provided the vehicles for The Rickshaw Challenge, Welcome Break introduced 'tap and donate'. Other thank you's were to WHS Smith and Costco!


Revealing the real meaning of Pudsey, we heard from Mrs Brown, David Walliams, Basil Brush, Melanie C, Kylie Minogue, Motsi Mabuse, Dolly Parton, KSI, Hacker T. Dog, Sir Lenny Henry, Graham Norton who all told their short little stories of how they know Pudsey! What a bear!


Eva's story was up next and while she was younger, she wanted to make everyone happy and take care of both her little brothers; and the doctor's who diagnosed her said that she had an un-fixable tumour in her brain, and her parents were told to take her home and 'make memories'. 'The Joshua Tree' help families that have young people with cancers and luckily Eva and her family were able to have virtual Joshua Tree sessions which include cooking and crafts!


Up next was a performance cover by Beverley Knight of Pink Floyd's single 'Wish You Were Here' in a marble inspired dress with Adam Goldsmith on Guitar! It was a lovely acoustic performance with videos in the background of some of the inspirational children and those benefitting from the help of Children in Need and other charities supporting young people!

The final performance of the show was by celebrities and stars from all forms of media with a collation of previous BBC Children in Need shows and those from Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing's Tess Daly, X Factor UK's Fleur Easy, The BBC News along with other famous people including Alexander Armstrong, presenter of 'Pointless', Joel Dommett, Charlene White and the late Sir Terry Wogan! What a moving performance and compilation of clips!


At the end of the show we found out the total amount of money raised; and it was a whopping final total of over £37,000,000!!!

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