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| Comic Relief | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Charitytelethon |
| Created by | Richard Curtis Lenny Henry |
| Presented by | Lenny Henry Emma Willis Paddy McGuinness Zoe Ball David Tennant Alesha Dixon Romesh Ranganathan Clara Amfo Rob Beckett Joe Sugg Jason Manford Amanda Holden Vernon Kay AJ Odudu Joel Dommett Maya Jama Rosie Ramsey Rylan Clark Alison Hammond Tom Allen (See full list) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | BBC Television Centre (1988–2013) The London Palladium (2015) The O2 (2017) BBC Elstree Centre (2019–21)[1] Dock10 (2022–)[2] |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Various |
| Production company | BBC Studios Entertainment Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One BBC Two |
| Release | 5 February 1988 (1988-02-05) – present |
| Related | |
| Children in Need (1980–present) Sport Relief (2002–2020) | |
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriterRichard Curtis and comedian SirLenny Henry in response to the1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.[3] The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make the public laugh, while raising money to help people around the world and in the United Kingdom.[3][4] Samir Patel was announced as CEO in January 2021.[5]
The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal isRed Nose Day, an annual (previously biennial)telethon held in March. The first live fundraising evening, held on 4 April 1986, featured comedians and pop stars, includingRowan Atkinson,Billy Connolly,Stephen Fry,Kate Bush and co-founder Lenny Henry.[6]
A prominent annual event on British television, Comic Relief is one of two high-profile telethon events held in the UK, the other beingChildren in Need held annually in November. At the end of the Red Nose Day telethon on 14 March 2015, it was announced that in the 30-year history of Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief appeals had raised in excess of£1.4 billion.[7]
Comic Relief was launched live onNoel Edmonds'Late, Late Breakfast Show onBBC1, on Christmas Day 1985 from arefugee camp inSudan. The idea for Comic Relief came fromJane Tewson, a charity worker who established it as the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity inEngland[8] andScotland.[9]
On 4, 5 and 6 April 1986[10] the inaugural live fundraising show,[11] "Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Live", was staged at theShaftesbury Theatre inLondon featuring popularalternative comedians and pop stars includingRowan Atkinson,Billy Connolly,Stephen Fry,Lenny Henry,Kate Bush andCliff Richard. The show was broadcast on BBC1 on the 25th April 1986.[12]). An audio recording was released onWEA, which included a live performance of the charity single "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard andthe Young Ones.[10]
The highlight of Comic Relief is Red Nose Day.[3] On 8 February 1988, Lenny Henry went toEthiopia and celebrated the very first Red Nose Day telethon. More than 150 celebrities and comedians participated. The event raised £15 million and attracted 30 million television viewers on BBC1.[13][14] To date,Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry are still active participants of the Red Nose Day telethon, which continues to raise funds for numerous charities that help children in need and tackle worldwide poverty.
The charity says its aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice".[15] One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every donatedpound (£) is spent on charitable projects. Alloperating costs, such as staffsalaries, are covered bycorporate sponsors, or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed.
Its main supporters are theBBC,BT Group,TK Maxx, andBritish Airways.[when?] The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza onRed Nose Day; BT provides the telephony, and TK Maxx sells merchandise on behalf of the charity. Until 2022,Sainsbury's sold Red Noses in their Supermarkets, Local Stores and Petrol Stations.
In 2002, Comic Relief andBBC Sport teamed up to createSport Relief, a new initiative, aiming to unite the sporting community and culminate in a night of sport, entertainment and fundraising on BBC One. Sport Relief was a biennial charity event, and the campaign deliberately alternated years with Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's flagship event. Red Nose Day occurs in odd-numbered years, and Sport Relief in even-numbered years.
In 2009, Comic Relief launched a website calling for afinancial transaction tax, the "Robin Hood" tax. On 14 March 2015, at the end of that year's Red Nose Day telethon it was announced that in the 30-year history of Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief appeals had raised in excess of £1bn (£1,047,083,706).[7]
In 2021 it was announced that Red Nose Day would become an annual event and, starting from 2022, there would be no more Sport Relief telethons. From the same year onwards, the appeal shows of Red Nose Day would now take place at the former Sport Relief studio atDock10,MediaCityUK in Salford.[16][17] In 2024, on Lenny Henry's final telethon as a presenter, he revealed that the overall £1 billion announced in 2015 had risen to more than £1.6 billion (£1,602,539,154).
The television programming begins in the afternoon, withCBBC having various related reports, money raising events and celebritygunging. This is all in-between the regular programmes, but after thesix o'clock news, the normal BBC One schedule is suspended at 7 pm in favour of a live show, with a break at 10 pm for the regularnews programme. Whilst theBBC News at Ten is aired on BBC One, Comic Relief continues onBBC Two, and then resumes on BBC One at 10:35 pm, with each hour overseen by a different celebrity team. These celebrities do the work free, as do the crew, with studio space and production facilities donated by the BBC. For this reason, it is common to see stars who are otherwise under contract to other rival broadcasters, such as ITV or Channel 4, appearing.
Regular themes throughout the shows includeparodies of recent popular shows, films and clips, events, and specially filmed versions of comedy shows.[18]Smith and Jones, and a parody sketch starringRowan Atkinson were both regularly featured.[19][20][21][22]
The First Red Nose Day was held on Friday 5 February 1988 and raised £15 million.[23]
The Second Red Nose Day was held on Friday 10 March 1989 with the slogan: "Red Nose Day 2", and raised £27 million.[23] This is also when the event would start generally being scheduled in mid-March, often close to, or on 17 March –Saint Patrick's Day.
The Third Red Nose Day was held on Friday 15 March 1991 with the slogan "The Stonker", and raised £20 million. The charity song was a double A-sided single featuring "The Stonk" performed by Hale & Pace and "The Smile Song" performed by Victoria Wood.
The Fourth Red Nose Day was held on Friday 12 March 1993 with the slogan "The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes", and raised £18 million.
The Fifth Red Nose Day was held on Friday 17 March 1995, with the slogan "What A Difference A Day Makes", and raised £22 million.
The 1997 Red Nose Day event was held on 14 March with the slogan "Small Change – Big Difference". The event raised more than £27m for charitable causes.[24] TheSpice Girls song "Who Do You Think You Are?" was the official Comic Relief single with 672,577 physical copies sold.[25] The telethon featured an appearance from Father Ted Crilly (Dermot Morgan) and Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O'Hanlon), characters from the sitcomFather Ted.
The 1999 Red Nose Day was held on 12 March and raised more than £35m. Perennial hosts Jonathan Ross and Lenny Henry were joined by Davina McCall, Chris Evans,Ben Elton,Jack Dee andJulian Clary, withPeter Snow providing regular updates on donations. Angus Deayton hosted a live cross-over panel game,Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over[broken anchor]. A parody of theDoctor Who series starringRowan Atkinson as theDoctor,Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, was featured during the show, as wasWetty Hainthropp Investigates (aVictoria Wood parody ofHetty Wainthropp Investigates),The Naughty Boys (a mock 1967 pilot forMen Behaving Badly) and guest appearance byRex the Runt.
On Radio 1, Simon Mayo set the record of 37 hours of consecutive broadcasting (which was later broken in March 2011 byChris Moyles andComedy Dave on the same station for 52 hours, "BBC Radio 1's Longest Show Ever with Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave for Comic Relief", the world record for the longest show in radio history). The 1999 Comic Relief song was"When the Going Gets Tough" byBoyzone.
The 2001 Red Nose Day was held on 16 March. The total raised was £55 million.[26] As well as donations on the night of the TV show, money is raised from countrywide sponsored events and frommerchandising, particularly of the red noses themselves.Celebrity Big Brother 1 was produced in honour of Comic Relief, with the finale airing as part of the Red Nose Day festivities.[27]
The 2003 Red Nose Day was held on 14 March. The fund raising activities includedLenny Henry providing the voice of thespeaking clock between 10 and 23 March with the cost of the call going to Comic Relief. On the night of the live show itself, £35m was raised, an on-the-night record.[28] A total of £61.6 million was raised that year, setting a new record.[26]
Jack Dee stood outside at the top of a pole for the duration of the show, parodying the acts ofDavid Blaine.Celebrity Driving School led up to the event,[29] with the test results announced during the telethon: they all failed.[28]
The hosts of Red Nose Day 2003 were:Jonathan Ross,Lenny Henry,Anthony McPartlin,Declan Donnelly,Vic Reeves,Bob Mortimer,Graham Norton,Adam Buxton andJoe Cornish.
As usual a variety of specially filmed versions of television shows were made. Popular BBC talent showFame Academy returned asComic Relief does Fame Academy. Other shows includedEastEnders,Auf Wiedersehen, Pet,University Challenge andCelebrity Driving School.
Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, a parody ofHarry Potter, starringDawn French asHarry Potter,Jennifer Saunders asRon Weasley andMiranda Richardson asHermione Granger.
The 2005 Red Nose Day was held on 11 March, and was hosted by a collection of television stars: these wereChris Evans,Lenny Henry,Davina McCall,Graham Norton,Dermot O'Leary andJonathan Ross. The 2005 event was also noteworthy for supporting theMake Poverty History campaign – many of the videos recorded for the MPH campaign (including videos byBono andNelson Mandela) were shown throughout the evening. £65m was raised.[30][26]
As usual a variety of specially filmed versions of television shows were made. Popular BBC talent showComic Relief does Fame Academy was attended by celebrities singingcover versions of songs. Viewers voted for their favourite, with the proceeds going to the cause and the celebrity. Other shows includedAbsolutely Fabulous,Little BritainI Want That One,The Vicar of Dibley,Green Wing,Spider-Plant Man, a parody ofSpider-Man starring Rowan Atkinson, andMy Family.
McFly released the official single, a double A-side of "All About You/You've Got a Friend", which reached Number 1 in theUK Singles Chart, and also Number 1 in theIrish Singles Chart. The cover is predominantly red and features the members ofMcFly dressed in red, wearing red noses, in honour of Red Nose Day.
2007's Red Nose Day was held on 16 March. Its tagline was "The Big One", which was also representative of the novelty nose.Walkers,Kleenex andAndrex also promoted the charity, as well as Sainsbury's. The event raised £67.7 million.[26]
The 2009 event took place on Friday 13 March 2009. Fundraisers had three different nose designs to choose from: "this one", "that one" and "the other one" – all with different facial expressions.The Saturdays provided the official single, a cover of "Just Can't Get Enough". The event raised £82.3 million.[26]
The 2011 event took place on Friday 18 March 2011. £74.3 million was raised on the night, the highest ever 'on the night' total. This was subsequently beaten by £0.8 million on Red Nose Day 2013's on-the-night event. The total for the whole campaign was £108.4 million, the then highest raised for one event.[26]
In addition to the continued absence of Rowan Atkinson, two more prominent supporters of the charity were absent for 2011 – this was the first ever Comic Relief event to feature no input from Dawn French, and the first for more than 10 years not to feature input from Matt Lucas. Similarly, several other frequent contributors from previous years appeared only in appeal films or as part of the24 Hour Panel People event. Lenny Henry however finally returned after an absence to perform comedic material.
The 2013 event took place on Friday 15 March 2013. By the end of the night, Comic Relief raised £75,107,852. In total that year Comic Relief raised £100.3 million.[26]
One Direction recorded the official single "One Way or Another", a medley ofBlondie's "One Way or Another" and "Teenage Kicks" byThe Undertones. The single was released on 17 February 2013.[31]
The 2015 event took place on Friday 13 March 2015. It was broadcast live for the first time at theLondon Palladium, with £99.4 million being raised.[26]
The 2017 event took place on Friday 24 March 2017, broadcast live from Building Six atThe O2 in London. It was widely criticised, for both the quality of sound, sketches, and going from films on poverty to a biscuit competition.[32] The event raised £82.1 million.[26]
The 2019 event took place on Friday 15 March 2019 live fromBBC Elstree Centre. The event raised £63,548,668.
The 2021 event took place on Friday 19 March 2021. The event raised £52 million and was once again hosted by Sir Lenny Henry alongside Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness, David Tennant and Alesha Dixon.
Sketches included a crossover betweenCatherine Tate's Nan character andJames Bond (Daniel Craig), a Comic ReliefZoom meeting featuringJack Whitehall and various celebrities and a trailer for2020 – The Movie featuringKeira Knightley,Michael Sheen,Jodie Whittaker,KSI,Anna Friel and DameJoan Collins. Sheen and Tennant also starred in a special edition of their TV showStaged while McGuinness and hisTop Gear co-stars,Freddie Flintoff andChris Harris were asked questions by children in a segment hosted by Radio 1'sJordan North.The Vicar of Dibley'sGeraldine Granger (played byDawn French) appeared alongside the ReverendKate Bottley to open the show. There were musical performances fromThe Proclaimers,Gabrielle and the cast ofBack to the Future the Musical. After the main show,Amanda Holden andJason Manford presentedThe Great Comic Relief Prizeathon.[33]
Red Nose Day took place on 18 March 2022.[34]
Some of 2022's fundraising challenges that took place prior to the main televised event included a 100-mile river challenge, which saw BBC Radio 1 presenter Jordan North rowing from London to Burnley,[35][36] and Tom Daley's Homecoming Challenge,[37] which involved rowing, swimming, cycling and running.[38] Footage of the latter challenge, which took place between the Aquatics Centre in London and Plymouth, was featured in a BBC One documentary calledTom Daley's Hell of a Homecoming, which was broadcast on 14 March 2022.[38]
The main Red Nose Day programming was split into three sections with the three-hour comedy special andThe Great Comic Relief Prizeathon[39] appearing on BBC One before and after the news, whilstComic Relief at the Movies took a 10pm slot on BBC Two.[40]
The 2022 Comic Relief show featured parodies ofThe Repair Shop (with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Dame Judi Dench) as well as various popstars in David Walliams and Matt Lucas'Rock Profile sketches, whilst Tim Vine and Kiri Pritchard-McLean took part in aOne Man and His Dog competition. The late-night programmeThe Great Comic Relief Prizeathon was presented by Vernon Kay and AJ Odudu, with an hour-longBest Bits compilation being transmitted a couple of days after the event.[41]
The 2023 event was held on 17 March 2023. Lenny Henry did not appear as the telethon's main presenter due to commitments with another project. Instead, the role was filled by David Tennant. An open sketch saw Henry regenerating into Tennant as a parody ofDoctor Who. £34 million was raised from donations.[42]
The 2024 event was held on 15 March 2024. This was the last telethon for Lenny Henry, the fundraiser's founder after 39 years of being the presenter of the telethon. As part of the tributes to Henry, co-host David Tennant, who also hosted the previous year's telethon, thanked Henry for "an amazing tour of duty". The event raised £38 million from donations.[43]
The 2025 event was held on 21 March 2025. It was the first event since Henry’s departure in 2024. Davina McCall, AJ Odudu, and Joel Dommett returned to present after hosting last year, Alesha Dixon also returned 3 years after her previous appearance in 2022, and Jonathan Ross returned after previously hosting in 2017. Alongside them, Alison Hammond, Tom Allen, and Rylan Clark hosted for the very first time.
As part of Comic Reliefs 40th anniversary, 40 Years of Funny was broadcast. Emma Willis and Asim Chaudhry presented a special programme celebrating the show’s 40 year anniversary.
As of 22 March 2025, £34,022,590 has been raised.[44]
| Year | Broadcast | BBC Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total viewers (millions) | Weekly rank | ||||
| BBC One | BBC Two | BBC One | BBC Two | ||
| 1988 | 5 February | 16.40 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 10 March | — | — | — | — |
| 1991 | 15 March | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 12 March | — | — | — | — |
| 1995 | 17 March | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 14 March | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 12 March | 6.83 | 3.13 | 20 | 13 |
| 2001 | 16 March | 8.51 | 5.47 | 8 | 2 |
| 2003 | 14 March | 11.74 | 6.01 | 4 | 1 |
| 2005 | 11 March | 10.94 | 4.72 | 4 | 1 |
| 2007 | 16 March | 9.73 | 6.40 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 | 13 March | 9.84 | 7.09 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | 18 March | 10.26 | 7.53 | 1 | 1 |
| 2013 | 15 March | 10.28 | 4.79 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 13 March | 8.48 | 4.67 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | 24 March | 6.30 | 2.21 | 6 | 7 |
| 2019 | 15 March | 5.85 | 2.99 | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | 19 March | 4.59 | — | 13 | — |
| 2022 | 18 March | 3.53 | 1.37 | — | 13 |
| 2023 | 17 March | 3.02 | — | 39 | — |
| 2024 | 15 March | 3.83 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Source:BARB | |||||
| Year | Amount | Real value in 2023 £[45] |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | £15,000,000 | £50,800,000 |
| 1989 | £26,900,000 | £84,500,000 |
| 1991 | £20,000,000 | £54,200,000 |
| 1993 | £18,000,000 | £46,300,000 |
| 1995 | £22,000,000 | £53,400,000 |
| 1997 | £27,000,000 | £62,100,000 |
| 1999 | £35,000,000 | £76,600,000 |
| 2001 | £55,000,000 | £114,900,000 |
| 2003 | £61,600,000 | £123,000,000 |
| 2005 | £65,000,000 | £122,600,000 |
| 2007 | £67,700,000 | £118,500,000 |
| 2009 | £82,300,000 | £139,400,000 |
| 2011 | £108,436,277 | £166,920,000 |
| 2013 | £100,331,808 | £145,250,000 |
| 2015 | £99,418,831 | £139,240,000 |
| 2017 | £82,154,943 | £109,170,000 |
| 2019 | £70,657,000[46] | £88,600,000 |
| 2021 | £61,544,783[46] | £73,070,000 |
| 2022 | £41,897,983[46] | £44,580,000 |
| 2023 | £31,952,141[47] | |
| 2024 | £40,055,914[48] | |
| 2025 | £34,022,590 | |
| Total | £1,165,972,270 | |
| Source:Past Red Nose Days | ||
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Various items of merchandise have been sold to promote and raise money for Comic Relief. In 1991,The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic was published byFleetway. Conceived, plotted and edited byNeil Gaiman,Richard Curtis,Grant Morrison andPeter K. Hogan, it featured contributions from a vast array of British comics talent, includingJamie Delano,Garth Ennis,Dave Gibbons,Mark Millar,Simon Bisley,Mark Buckingham,Steve Dillon,D'Israeli,Jamie Hewlett andBryan Talbot. (Alan Moore, arguably Britain's most famous comics writer, was not credited as working on the book having sworn never to work for Fleetway again, but was said[49] to have worked with partnerMelinda Gebbie on her pages.) The comic was unique in that it featured appearances by characters from across the spectrum of comics publishers, includingMarvel andDC superheroes,Beano,Dandy,Eagle andViz characters,Doctor Who, theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in addition to a cavalcade of British comedy figures (both real and fictional). These were all linked by the twinframing narratives of the Comic Relief night itself, and the tale of "Britain's meanest man" SirEdmund Blackadder being persuaded to donate money to the event. The comic "sold out in minutes", raising more than £40,000[citation needed] for the charity, and is now a highly prized collector's item. Comic Relief have also sold Fairtrade Cotton Socks from a number of vendors. This is mainly for their Sport Relief charity.
In 1993 a computer platform game was released, calledSleepwalker. The game featured voice overs fromLenny Henry andHarry Enfield, and several other references to Comic Relief and tomatoes; the theme for the 1993 campaign.
In 2001J. K. Rowling wrote two books for Comic Relief based on her famousHarry Potter series, entitledFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them andQuidditch Through the Ages. The Fantastic Beasts book, would ultimately lead to the mid-late 2010s series of films of the same name as part of the expanded "Potterverse".
In 2007,Walkers complemented the usual merchandise by adding their own take on the red nose, promoting red ears instead. The large ears, dubbed 'Walk-ears', are based on a very old joke involving the actual ears of ex-footballerGary Lineker, who has fronted their ad campaign since the early 1990s. Walkers previously promoted the charity in 2005, making four limited edition unusual crisp flavours.
The 2007 game for Red Nose Day, "Let It Flow", could be played online. This game was developed by Matmi, worldwide viral marketeers, and set in the African wilderness. Mischievoushyenas had messed up the waterirrigation system, which fed the crops. You had to help re-arrange the pipes to let the water flow to the crops to keep them alive. Once the pipes were arranged, you needed to operate the elephant's trunk to pump the water through the water pipes.
For the 2007 campaignAndrex, known for their ad campaign fronted by aLabrador puppy, gave away toy puppies with red noses.
As a Supporting Partner Jackpotjoy has launched two Red Nose Day Games for Red Nose Day 2011.
The most prominentsymbol of Comic Relief is a "red nose", which is given in various supermarkets and charity shops such as Oxfam in exchange for adonation to the charity and to make others laugh. People are encouraged to wear the noses on Red Nose Day to help raise awareness of the charity. The design of the nose has been changed each year, beginning with a fairly plain one, which later grew arms, turned into a tomato and even changed colour. This regular re-design was in part to stop people from re-using previous years designs, and having to buy the latest version, as for example some people may re-use the same Poppy, repeatedly, rather than buying a new one each year. In 2007, the red nose was made of foam; this was to facilitate the "growing" of the nose (by rolling it in the user's hands) to keep in line with that year's tagline,The Big One (see the table below). Larger noses are also available and are designed to be attached to the fronts of cars, buildings and, in 2009, a 6-metre (20-foot) diameter inflatable nose was attached to theDFDS SeawayscruiseferryKing of Scandinavia. However, the nose's material used for buildings was classed as a fire hazard and was banned from theComic Relief Does Fame Academy shows.
As of 2019[update], Comic Relief has sold 50 different red noses over 19 Red Nose Days.[50][51] In 1988, It started with one nose. Two noses were available for the 1995 event. Three noses per event were available from 2009 to 2013. In 2015, nine noses were released, and in 2017, there were 10 different noses available—for both these years, this included a rare collector's nose. For 2019, 11 different noses were available to buy, including "rare" and "ultra-rare" noses. Ten different plastic-free noses were available for Red Nose Day 2021. In 2022, There were 8 noses. In 2023, It went back to only one. In 2024, there were four plastic noses, including the golden "rare" nose. In 2025, 6 noses were made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Red Nose Day. 4 noses from past Comic Relief campaigns (1988, 1991, 2009 and 2013) to celebrate 4 decades of Comic Relief, alongside a cupcake nose exclusive to the collector’s pack, and a rare ruby red nose. All noses also returned to their foam design for the first time since 2019.
| Year | Name | Description | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Red Nose | Plain red nose with four holes | Plastic |
| 1989 | My Nose | Had an embossed smiling face with spiked hair logo, known as 'Harry'. | Scented plastic |
| 1991 | The Stonker | Had hands protruding from each side and the embossed face logo. | Plastic |
| 1993 | Tomato Nose | Red nose with embossed face and a green tomato stalk. | Plastic |
| 1995 | The Heat Sensitive Nose | The nose came in two versions, which turned either yellow or pink when heated. The words 'MY NOSE' were embossed on it. | Heat sensitive plastic |
| 1997 | Shaggy Nose | A clear plastic nose covered in shaggy red fur | Plastic, fur |
| 1999 | The Big Red Hooter | Faceless with gold glitter, and when squeezed it 'hooted'. The first nose to be sold in a small cardboard box. | Plastic with glitter |
| 2001 | Whoopee Nose | Red head with inflated cheeks, when squeezed the tongue inflated. | Plastic with rubber tongue |
| 2003 | Hairy Nose | Had gooey eyes that squeezed out and a tuft of red hairs. It came with gel for the hair. When worn upside down, the hair can resemble a moustache. | Plastic with synthetic hair |
| 2005 | Big Hair & Beyond | Had a smiley face and colourful elastic hair. It came with red and yellow face paint and stickers for the nose. The last nose to beplastic until 2022. | Plastic with elastic hair |
| 2007 | The Big One | Faceless and more comfortable, came with stickers to decorate the nose with, and a Chocpix chocolate.[52] The last nose to be sold in a small cardboard box until 2019. £40,236,142 was raised. | Foam with stickers |
| 2009 | This One, That One, The Other One | Three noses were available. "This One" had a big smile with mouth open. "That One" had glasses and a smile with the teeth closed. "The Other One" had a shocked look. All three came with six stickers depicting each of the noses, the RND 2009 logo and tag-line "Do something funny for money". Also included were a "Hello, my nose is:" name tag sticker and a small booklet of nose-related jokes. £59,187,065 was raised. | Foam with stickers |
| 2011 | Monster Noses | There were three different 'monster noses' for RND 2011. "Honkus" had a furry face, a large mouth with sharp teeth and small eyes near the top of the head. "Chucklechomp" had small round spectacles and a large mouth. "Captain Conk" was roughly based on a pirate, with aJolly Roger bandana and an eyepatch. Each nose came with a circular leaflet, which contained monster related jokes and pictures of the three monster noses. Anaugmented reality version of the nose was created as part of the Red Nose Day website. Via awebcam the user's head was converted into a giant red nose, which could then be recorded as a short movie and posted to Facebook or YouTube. | Foam |
| 2013 | The Nose With Toes | For the third year running, three noses were available and they were dinosaur-themed. "Dinomite" had a spiky hairdo and a large pointy-toothed growl with small eyes near the top of the head. "T-Spex" had a big nose and black thick-rimmed glasses. "Triceytops" was based upon aTriceratops with a large smile and a spiked 'mane'. Their slogan was 'Meet the diNOSEaurs!' These were also the first noses to include feet in their designs. | Foam |
| 2015 | Nose in a Bag | For the first time, nine nose designs had been created, each placed in a "mystery bag" packaging, meaning that people would get one of the nose designs at random rather than being able to choose. The Red Noses were:
Comic Relief hid 12 golden versions of these noses in stores around the country, offering winners a "Golden Nose Experience". | Foam |
| 2017 | The Red Noses | The nature of the red noses was exactly the same as for 2015, but with different characters.[53] Noses were once again sold in the bags. Ten noses were available, including one rare nose. £82,154,943 was raised.
| Foam |
| 2019 | The Red Noses | This year's noses were once again made from the same material, but introduced different characters. There were 9 regular, 1 rare (1 in 840) and 1 ultra-rare (1 in 8400). Inside the package of each nose was a part of a castle building, and the red noses had their own app,[54] titled "Red Nose", which involved augmented reality. The noses were unveiled on 19 December 2018. The regular noses were:
| Foam |
| 2021 | The Plant-Based Nose | On October 5, 2020, Comic Relief unveiled its first ever plant-based, plastic-free red nose for Red Nose Day 2021, created in response to concerns over the environmental damage of plastic waste.[57] There were 10 noses, all with environmental themes. They were made ofbagasse, a natural product of sugarcane, chosen for its "widely celebrated sustainable qualities". The 10 noses all had different names and designs based on nature. All came with their own box:[58]
| Bagasse |
| 2022 | The Safari Nose | For the second time Comic Relief used bagasse for its red noses.[59] The 8 noses all had different names and designs based on African animals:[58] | Bagasse[59] |
| 2023 | Magically transforming Red Nose | Designed by ex-Apple product designerSir Jony Ive, the magically transforming Red Nose starts as a tiny, flat crescent and springs into a beautiful honeycomb-paper sphere. | Paper, bagasse, polylactic acid (PLA) and rubber[60] |
| 2024 | The Red Noses | 2024's noses were made from 70% bagasse and 30% wood pulp. For 2024, there were three characters to collect, as well as the Rare Blue and Golden Noses, and were named:
| Bagasse, wood pulp[61] |
| 2025 | Best of the Best | To mark 40 years of Comic Relief, the charity recreated four noses from past Red Nose Days of each decade - the original nose from 1988, the "Stonker" nose with hands from 1991, the "That One" smiley nose from 2009 and the Triceytops dinosaur nose from 2013. There was also a rare (1-in-125 chance) ruby nose and a birthday nose resembling a cupcake with a candle (only available as part of a £12 multipack). All noses were made from a new material - biofoam (derived from soy). | Biofoam |
A selection of Red Nose Day "car noses" have been produced over the years, to show support for the charity while out on the road. They have traditionally been a curved nose that attaches to the car's radiator grille. In 2009, this was replaced with a magnetic design owing to safety concerns.[62] The original grill-attachable design returned for 2011, for the first time since 1999.[63]
| Year | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Red Nose | A curved, dome-like plastic red nose which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front. |
| 1991 | The Hands Nose | A red plastic nose with hands, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front. |
| 1993 | The Tomato Nose | A red plastic nose with a green tomato stalk, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties. |
| 1997 | The Aerial Nose | A small red plastic nose that attached to the car's aerial. This nose was sold in Texaco fuel stations. |
| 1999 | The Hands Nose | Another red plastic nose with hands and '1999' in golden adhesive numbers, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties. |
| 2001 | The Big Sticky Car Nose | A small plastic nose with wings, synonymous to The Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament on Rolls-Royce cars, for attaching to the car's bonnet with a suction cup on the base. The Big Sticky Nose featured a face designed by Aardman animators, the creators of Wallace and Gromit. |
| 2003 | The Hairy Air Freshener Nose | A small plastic nose with a smiley face and red tuft of hair, attached to the driver'srear-view mirror. |
| 2005 | The Air Freshener Nose | A small plastic nose with a smiley face and colourful koosh-like elastic hair, for attaching to the driver's rear-view mirror. |
| 2007 | Big Smelly Nose Balls | Two furry air freshener noses with black spectacles, which dangled from the driver's rear-view mirror, synonymous with furry dice from the 1950s. |
| 2009 | The Magnetic Nose | A thin and flat magnetic nose, with a grinning face, which attached magnetically to the car's bonnet. |
| 2011 | The Monster Nose | A return to the curved plastic nose, featuring a monster face, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties. |
| 2013 | The diNOSEsaur Air Freshener | A return to the air freshener for cars. The flat design featured the three dinosaur red noses, T-Spex, Triceytops and Dinomite, with the tag line 'It's extinction time for bad odours'. |
| 2015 | The Mystery Bag Air Freshener | A flat design with the 9 noses from the mystery bags. |
2014 saw the new release of 2 Flip Flap noses, the Poppy and England flag red nose designs and the first paper noses for cars and the 1st year for 2 car noses.
In April 1986, the first Comic Reliefcharity record was released. It featuredCliff Richard and the cast ofThe Young Ones in a rendition of Richard's late 50s hit "Living Doll".
Some of the money raised from the sale of each single is donated to Comic Relief. Normally, a song is released just before the official Red Nose Day. There have been exceptions, such as "(I Want To Be) Elected", which was released to coincide with the1992 UK general election. Before the single released in 1995, Comic Relief records were all more-or-less comedy releases, mostly involving an actual band or singer teamed up with a comedy group. From 1995 on, they have been generally more serious, although the promo videos still feature comical moments.
2003 saw a return to the format of old. From 2005 to 2011, two Comic Relief singles were released each Red Nose Day, a song by a mainstream artist and also a comedy song.
In 1991, a music video was created called "Helping Hands", which included numerous children's television puppet personalities, including characters fromThe House of Gristle,Fraggle Rock,Rainbow,Roland Rat,Thunderbirds,Round the Bend!,Bill & Ben,The Gophers,Spitting Image,Jim Henson's Tale of the Bunny Picnic and more. In 1993 a follow-up single happened, this time featuring the biggest stars of children's television at the time called "You Can Be a Hero". Neither song was ever released.
The biggest-selling Comic Relief single isTony Christie andPeter Kay's "Is This the Way to Amarillo", with 1.28 million copies sold.Westlife's 2001 cover ofBilly Joel's "Uptown Girl" is the second biggest-seller, followed by 1986's "Living Doll" and theSpice Girls' 1997 double-A side single "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are?", withBoyzone's 1999 cover of "When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" rounding up the top five.[64]
In addition, the first Red Nose Day schools' song ("Make Someone Happy") was published in 2007. A CD of the song, together with backing tracks and fundraising ideas, was sent free of charge to all primary schools in the UK – during February – by the education music publisher 'Out of the Ark Music'. Schools would be free to use the song in assemblies, singathons, or other fundraising activities. A second Red Nose Day Song has been released for every school in the UK, to use free of charge. It can be downloaded from the Red Nose Day 09 website, or watched on YouTube, and a copy has been sent to every primary school in the UK. It was again published by 'Out of the Ark' music, and contained a more upbeat melody than the version released in 2007. It was recorded at Hook Studios,Hook, Surrey, by the Out of the Ark Choir, which is completely made up of children. The children in the video wearStella McCartney's special edition Comic Relief T-shirts, and was filmed in black and white so that only the red stood out.
There has been some concern about the lack ofgender equality in the causes supported by Comic Relief, with much funding going to politicised women's charities or charities focusing on women. Writing inThe Spectator, Ross Clark raised the question, 'Why do all these women's charities...feel the need to disguise their fundraising in the prat-fest that is Comic Relief, rather than appealing directly to the public?' He added, 'Are they worried that if the British public realised where their money was going, they would be less inclined to be so generous?'[73]
TheBritish Stammering Association criticised comedian Lenny Henry over his opening sketch for the 2011 telethon, during which he spoofed the filmThe King's Speech and grew impatient withColin Firth in his portrayal ofKing George VI as he stammered over his speech.The Sun reported that the British Stammering Association had branded the sketch as 'a gross and disgusting gleefulness at pointing out someone else's misfortune'.[74]
In December 2013, an edition of theBBC One seriesPanorama pointed out that between 2007 and 2009, millions of pounds donated to Comic Relief had been invested in funds, which appeared "to contradict several of its core aims", with shares in tobacco, alcohol and arms firms.[75]
The 2017 event was strongly criticised by viewers for various technical issues, glitches and having two adult-orientated skits shown before the 9 pmwatershed, one whereVic Reeves showed a fakepenis toGood Morning Britain presenterSusanna Reid, and another featuring a scene in which presenterGraham Norton asks modelCara Delevingne why she had sex on aplane. The event was also criticised for two pre-watershed instances ofprofanity, one involving aMrs. Brown's Boys skit where the titular character does aV sign (a gesture that is deemed profane in the United Kingdom), and another involvingRussell Brand after a technical blunder caused him to swear and say "Fuck" after being cut off.[76][77] In total 338 complaints were made toOfcom, however the regulator chose not to investigate because the comedy sketches "were inexplicit and consistent with the live, unpredictable format of this established charity programme", whilst recognising that some "were not to everyone's taste".[78]
In 2017, a video featuringEd Sheeran meeting and rescuing a child in Liberia for Comic Relief was criticised as 'poverty porn' and was given the 'Rusty Radiator' award for the 'most offensive and stereotypical fundraising video of the year'.[79][80]
Writing inThe Guardian in 2017, Labour MPDavid Lammy argued that Comic Relief perpetuated problematicstereotypes of Africa, and that they had a responsibility to use its powerful position to move the debate on in a more constructive way by establishing an image of African people as equals.[81]
In 2018, in response to Lammy's comments and the backlash to Sheeran's video, Comic Relief announced they would take steps towards change by halting their use of celebrities for appeals.[82]
However, in February 2019, Lammy also criticisedStacey Dooley for posting on social media about her trip toUganda for Comic Relief, saying that 'the world does not need any morewhite saviours', and that she was perpetuating 'tired and unhelpful stereotypes' about Africa.[83][84] The pressure group 'No White Saviours' argued that Comic Relief had pledged to make changes to their celebrity campaigns in the past, and now needed to put them into practice.[85]
The remarks by Lammy were believed to have damaged coverage of Red Nose Day; viewership dropped and the donations received for the broadcast in March 2019 fell by £8 million and the money raised that year was the lowest since 2007.[86][87] In 2020, as a result of Lammy's intervention, Comic Relief announced that it would no longer send celebrities to Africa nor portray Africa with images of starving people or critically ill children.[88] Instead, they would be using local film makers to provide a more "authentic" perspective and give agency back to African people.[89]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2017) |
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