Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the famine in Ethiopia. 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. A new CEO, Samir Patel, was announced in January 2021.
| Comic Relief | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Charity telethon |
| 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 (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) Dock10 (2022–) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Various |
| Production company | BBC Studios Entertainment Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One BBC Two |
| Release | 5 February 1988 – present |
| Related | |
| Children in Need (1980–) Sport Relief (2002–2020) | |
The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red 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, including Rowan Atkinson, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Kate Bush and co-founder Lenny Henry.
A prominent annual event on British television, Comic Relief is one of two high-profile telethon events held in the UK, the other being Children 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.