Comic Relief raises over £34m as stars parody The Traitors and Eurovision

The BBC’s yearly Comic Relief fundraiser, which this twelvemonth featured sketches based connected the fashionable amusement The Traitors and the Eurovision opus contest, has raised much than £34m.

The show, hosted astatine Media City successful Salford, included AJ Odudu, Joel Dommett and Paddy McGuinness arsenic presenters.

This year’s fundraiser volition enactment radical struggling with the outgo of surviving crisis, nutrient poverty, intelligence wellness issues and homelessness.

The wealth raised was announced unrecorded by hosts McGuinness, David Tennant and Zoë Ball. Dame Mary Berry, Danny Dyer and Jamie Dornan made appearances connected the show.

Comic Relief was founded by Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis successful 1985 with the volition to assistance extremity kid poorness successful the UK and astir the world.

For the archetypal clip since the programme was launched, Henry was not determination but appeared successful a prerecorded entreaty to assistance starving communities successful Africa.

After a montage of clips from his past visits to the continent with the charity, Henry said: “But I deliberation what I said then, inactive rings existent to maine now. Forget geography. These are your neighbours.”

During the opening credits, the co-founder regenerated into the erstwhile Doctor Who Tennant, who said: “For the archetypal clip successful Comic Relief’s history, we are flying without our captain, Sir Lenny Henry.”

Dame Mary Berry and Claudia Winkleman (first and 2nd left) took portion successful a sketch based astir The Traitors with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Photograph: Comic Relief/PA

The singers Zara Larsson and Tom Grennan performed live.

Celebrities began fundraising earlier Friday night’s unrecorded show, with BBC Radio 1’s Arielle Free taking portion successful a cycling situation and BBC One Morning Live’s Gethin Jones dancing for 24 hours.

The TV lawsuit included a video entreaty from Prince William, successful which helium met stateless radical helped by Comic Relief. The amusement besides included a parody sketch of The Traitors, which featured existent contestants Maddy and Wilf alongside Berry and Dyer.

Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Merchant and Rosie Jones featured successful the sketch, portion Dawn French played the relation of Claudia Winkleman.

Elsewhere connected the amusement determination was an quality from Kylie Minogue, portion the Blackadder prima Tony Robinson work a bedtime communicative arsenic the quality Baldrick.

This year’s reddish chemoreceptor was designed by the erstwhile Apple decorator Jony Ive.