Lenny Henry wows fans with weight loss as & Rose & Giovanni perform winning Strictly dance

March 18, 2022March 19, 2022 Stan

RED Nose Day returns to TONIGHT with Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders among the big names taking part.

Sir Lenny Henry, David Tennant and Paddy McGuinness will host the main fundraising show, which will be broadcast from the BBC studios in Salford for the first time.

Zoe Ball was due to co-host but has pulled out after testing positive for Covid.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will reprise their popular characters The Extras for a sketch set in The Repair Shop, while Walliams and Lucas will bring back their comedy sketch show Rock Profile for a one-off special.

Little Britain stars Lucas and Walliams will impersonate Miley Cyrus and her famous father Billy Ray as part of their comedy sketch.

The fundraising broadcast will also see Kylie Minogue joining forces with the cast of hit BBC sitcom Ghosts in a one-off sketch, while Jack Whitehall will participate in a game of mini golf with footballers Declan Rice and Mason Mount.

Read our Comic Relief blog below for the latest news…

Tom Daley raised over £1million for Comic Relief

Tom Daley’s Hell Of A Homecoming challenge has raised £1,027,111.

The Olympic gold medal-winning diver completed 290 miles of rowing, swimming, cycling and running last month in a gruelling four-day mission from London to his home town of Plymouth in Devon.

Speaking during tonight’s live event, Daley admitted: “I literally could not walk for about two weeks, to the point where my husband had to carry me out of bed in the night to go for a wee. I literally could not move my legs.”
Rose and Giovanni return with Strictly dance

Strictly 2021 champions Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice have just performed one of the stunning dances that won them the Glitterball trophy.

They performed a waltz to How Long Will I Love You

It was of course, a flawless and beautiful dance from the couple.
A bit jealous of Jay Blades, Paddy?

Paddy Round off the segment, saying “I’ve never got the obsession with Jay Blades.

“He just a tall, dark handsome man, with a big heart, who’s good with his hands,” jokes Paddy.

“Honestly I get it, I do get it.”

French and Saunders are going in on The Repair Shop

Jay Blades looks rather perplexed at the two barmy ladies that have just walked in – played by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

The special installment of The Repair Shop, which will also feature Dame Judi Dench, will see the duo playing a pair of fame-hungry women trying to get a free fix in the shop of the popular BBC show.

Repair Show host Jay Blades attempted to deal with them – but sadly their antics wore thin and he kicked them out of the shop.
Back to the opera!

The Comic Opera will take place live tonight – and celebrities are gonna go through their paces.

The stars had no idea they’d been selected, with Nina Wadia telling of her “terror”.

Scarlett Moffat, for once, looked lost for words!

NINTCHDBPICT000719881959Credit: Getty
How can you resist a request from Tom Daley?

The Olympic medalist and swimming sensation has made an impassioned plea to donate to Comic Relief.

Donations go to hundreds of different causes across the UK.
Jack Whitehall’s hilarious impression of Danny Dyer

A rather preppy-looking Jack Whitehall is playing crazy golf with footballers.

The comedian is going head to head with West Ham’s Declan Rice and Mason Mount.

And Jack Whitehall’s Danny Dyer-inspired, West Ham fan impression is genuinely hilarious.

Especially with that barnet.
Tim Vine is King of the sheep herders

Tim Vine narrowly beat fellow comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean at a sheepherding competition as part of the Red Nose Day show.

The pair went head-to-head in a special version of Countryfile’s One Man And His Dog competition during the charity broadcast.

After showing off their newfound sheepherding skills, it was announced that Vine had scored 67 while Pritchard-McLean received 65 points.
Oops…Live broadcast blunder

The Red Nose Day broadcast experienced a technical fault which meant the show had to skip past its segment with a magician.

The audio from the previous segment with actors Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law replayed as the Mind Mangler from the Magic Goes Wrong theatre play took to the stage.

Presenters Alesha Dixon and Paddy McGuinness attempted to reintroduce the act before announcing it was a technical fault.

McGuinness joked “it’s not very magic” before swiftly moving along by adding that “it doesn’t matter”.

Paddy says ‘if it goes wrong don’t blame us’

Paddy and Alesha are introducing the Mind Mangler.

They said of live TV: “What could possibly go wrong?”
Rachel Riley says donating ‘as easy as one, two, three’

Rachel RIley says you don’t have to be a genius mathematician to donate to Comic Relief.

Just in case you DIDN’T know, you can text or go online to donate.

Don’t forget to select Gift Aid
Presenters send get well wishes to Zoe Ball

The Red Nose Day presenters also kicked off the show by sending their love to Zoe Ball.

It comes as the broadcaster had to drop out at the last minute after testing positive for coronavirus.

The radio and TV presenter, 51, was due to be part of tonights night’s star-studded presenting line-up and has been replaced by Alesha Dixon/
Remember when James Corden went for a drive with George Michael?

We’ve just been treated to a montage of of great Red Nose Day moments.

And who can forget James Corden putting a naughty George Michael in his place?

Lenny Henry said “we miss you George” after the segment ended.
Lenny asks Paddy to explain Bitcoin

Lenny asked Paddy to explain Bitcoin and the Bolton lad looked perplexed.

Laughing, he said: “Cheque please”.

We know how you feel Pad!
Get donating!

You know the drill – let’s raise some money for some worthy causes.

Text FIVE, TEN or TWENTY to 70702.

Go for it!

Get ready to laugh at celebs trying to sing opera songs

Sara Cox is at the London Coliseum where a band of celebrities, including Tamsin Outhwaite and Scarlett Moffat, will later perform classic opera songs.

We’ll be watching them singing live, with no takes.
The hosts looking polished this evening

Paddy and Lenny are joined by David Tennant and Alesha Dixon.

They’ve been singing dancing and hyping the crowd up.

And they look absolutely dazzling.
The show’s about to start!

Settle in for the next few hours and enjoy all the nonsense of Red Nose Day.

We’ll be watching it with you in real time.
Alesha Dixon standing in for Zoe Ball

Comic Relief regular Sir Lenny Henry will be hosting this year, along with Alesha Dixon and David Tennant.

Alesha has stepped in for Zoe Ball who has pulled out due to Covid.

The other stars taking part include:
Where to buy red noses in 2022

Red Nose Day is an annual fundraising event run by charity Comic Relief to help people suffering from discrimination, poverty and violence.

One of the most iconic aspects of Comic Relief’s big day is the red nose.

Children and adults in the UK have worn red noses, which come in a variety of designs, since 1988.

You can buy them from:
When was the first Red Nose Day?

The first Red Nose Day was on February 8, 1988.

The event and aimed to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia, and was successful in raising £15 million.

Sir Lenny Henry hosted the first Red Nose Day along with 150 other celebrities in 1988 and he returns to hosting duties in 2022.

Why do we wear red noses?

People wear red noses to show that they are celebrating Red Nose Day and that they have donated.

The proceeds of red noses go to Comic Relief, so wearing a red nose is a symbol of your donation and support for the Comic Relief cause.

This year the charity has confirmed that funds will also go towards supporting those fleeing Ukraine after the Russian Invasion.
Is Red Nose Day on every year?

Comic Relief is a biennial event – which means it only takes place every other year.

It used to be held annually until 2002 when Sport Relief was introduced.

Now, Comic Relief falls on odd years, while Sport Relief happens in even years.

The next Red Nose Day takes place TODAY, Friday, March 18, 2022.
Where does your money go?

Comic Relief spends the money that is raised through Red Nose Day and Sport Relief on disadvantaged people living in the UK and around the world.

Over the last 30 years over £1billion has been raised for the charity.

The Comic Relief charity is UK-based and aims to free the world from poverty.

It has also backed campaigns to help disabled people get back into work and to highlight abuse of the elderly.
What’s the difference between Red Nose Day and Comic Relief?

Comic Relief is a charity that was started by Richard Curtis.

Red Nose Day is the actual event that takes place.

People and celebrities are encouraged to take part in fundraising events on Red Nose Day to raise money for Comic Relief.

These include cake bakes, sporting challenges and wearing red clothes to school.

Or you can just purchase a Red Nose or other merchandise from the Comic Relief website.