| Genre | Informational |
|---|---|
| Running time | 3:00 (9:26 pm – 9:29 pm)(also airs at 07:55 A.M.; each Sunday) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| TV adaptations | BBC Lifeline Appeal |
| Hosted by | Varies |
| Recording studio | BBC Radio London, England |
| Original release | January 1, 1908 (1908-01-01) |
| Website | www |
TheRadio 4 Appeal is a Britishradio programme onBBC Radio 4. Each week a single speaker, usually a celebrity, appeals for support for a differentcharity (for examplePaul Heiney appealed on behalf of Send a Cow in 2008,[1] whileRoss Noble appealed on behalf ofRiders for Health in 2010).[2] Listeners are invited to respond by sending cheques using aFreepost address, or can make payments online or by telephone. Listeners can also set up astanding order payment to support all 52 charities each year.[3]
The programme is transmitted in a three minute block at 07:55 and 21:26 on Sunday,[4] and at 15:27 on the following Thursday. It is governed by the BBC's Charity Appeal Policy.[5]
Each year since 1927, the BBC has broadcast a special Christmas Appeal in association withSt Martin-in-the-Fields church inTrafalgar Square, London. This raises funds which are divided equally between The Connection at St Martin's, which supports vulnerable and homeless people in central London, and the Vicar's Relief Fund, which makes grants, averaging £200, to people anywhere in the UK who are at risk of homelessness or with experience of being homeless. The 2012 Appeal raised a record £1.9 million.[6]
In 2007-2008 the appeals raised £1,433,154.02 for 52 charities. Just over half of this, £725,000, was for the annual Christmas appeal, broadcast on 2 Dec 2007. Amounts raised for other charities in that year ranged from £1,366.00 (Jenni Murray appealing forBEAT (Eating Disorders Association) on 24 Feb 2008) to £53,988.00 (Krishnan Guru-Murthy appealing forHomeless International on 3 March 2007, one week later).[7]
An earlier programme based on the same principle wasThe Week's Good Cause, which ran from 1926 (from 1939 in theBBC Home Service) until controllerJames Boyle's major reforms to Radio 4 in 1998, and was the longest running BBC radio series.[8][9]
