Children in Need 2025 raises more than £45m

The 2025 Children in Need appeal has raised more than £45 million to help children and young people across the UK; The total is expected to increase further.

Presenters Paddy McGuinness, Mel Giedroyc, Lenny Rush, Rochelle Humes, Vernon Kay and Big Zuu appeared live from Salford on Friday night’s annual fundraising show on BBC One.

There were skits featuring stars from Gladiators and The Apprentice, as well as performances from some of the Strictly Come Dancing pros.

Other performances included Lewis Capaldi, McFly’s Tom Fletcher and his son Buzz, and Eurovision contestants Remember Monday.

The total announced at the end of the three-hour show was £45,507,536; More than £9.5 million of this was raised by Sara Cox. 135 mile challenge.

Radio 2 DJ took part in five marathons in five days; running, jogging and hiking in Northern England, ending in the town of Pudsey.

Speaking to Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills at the finish line on Friday afternoon, Cox said: “This was the craziest, most painful, amazing thing I’ve ever done.”

“I’ve never had shapely calves in my life,” he joked, “But now they’re so swollen it looks like I’ve been bludgeoned.”

She said during the appeal: “It was like a roller coaster… literally my mood was changing every three, four seconds – it was too much.”

Cox told the hosts he was “completely exhausted” but that it had been “the most amazing, painful and wonderful few days of my life.”

During The Apprentice skit, the script was flipped when Lord Sugar found himself on the receiving end of an intense boardroom argument.

The entrepreneur explained that he “owed Pudsey a favour” and so allowed eight children to ask questions such as: “Why are you called Lord Sugar when you’re always so salty?”

“Well Sugar is my name and that’s it, what can I say?” he replied.

Pudsey Bear, the yellow bear who acts as the Children in Need mascot, and 16-year-old actor Rush can be seen embarking on new BBC roles as “TV’s big cheeses” in another skit.

This marked a children’s takeover aimed at putting children at the center of all BBC programmes.

Wearing a BBC lanyard and outfit, Rush said: “You’re always going to meet resistance. But remember, who runs the world? I run it. Yes, the kids run it.”

In another clip, Richard Madeley threatened to sack Rush, saying: “We both know what’s going to happen if things don’t get better, don’t we? Lenny’s going to be fired.”

The Friday night show revived Gladiators; The team of elite athletes was replaced by children.

Dubbed the “Mini Gladiators”, the team faced off against contestants in a variety of tasks, but there was one small obstacle; they were too small to overcome many difficulties.

The live show also saw Giedroyc and Big Zuu led by fitness expert Joe Wicks in a live workout, which also featured some of Strictly’s professional dancers.

Earlier in the week, Big Zuu collaborated with Pudsey Bear and a group of children from a theater project funded by Children in Need will present the first CBeebies Bedtime Story.

She read Lu Fraser and Sarah Warburton’s Basil Dreams Big, a story about resilience, courage, and self-belief. It was broadcast on Thursday night and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

The rapper and chef said the charities that appeal to him the most are “organizations that take care of caregivers and also take care of parents.”

“I know how important it is for young people to have a trusted adult they can talk to who believes in them and has the power to help unlock their potential,” she said.

Rush, a third-year presenter, added that his favorite thing about presenting is meeting “so many wonderful, inspiring people” as well as “having the opportunity to hear their stories.”

The BBC’s daily news podcast Newscast has also gotten in on the act, with presenter Adam Fleming taking on a 25-hour podcasting stint between Thursday and Friday.

The regular Newcast team welcomed a host of BBC radio presenters and podcasters, including the CBeebies Radio and 5 Live Daily podcast team.

Children in Need is the BBC’s charity for disadvantaged children and young people and has raised more than £1 billion for charities and projects since its first major appeal in 1980.