On Thursday 23rd April celebrities and members of the royal family alike came together for the Big Night In – a charity event to raise money for those affected by COVID-19. Lasting from 7-10pm on BBC One, the fundraising event saw the first joint even hosted by Comic Relief and Children In Need, with hosts including Lenny Henry, Matt Baker and Davina McCall.
In a similar format to the typical telethons, the Big Night In mixed live sections from the presenters with pre-recorded comedy sketches, musical performances, and charity related clips. Celebrities who took part in the aforementioned sketches include the cast of Eastenders, Jack Whitehall who reprised his role from the show Bad Education and David Tennant and Catherine Tate who also revived their roles from a 2007 Comedy Relief sketch. Stephen Fry also appeared as Lord Melchett from Blackadder, who, with a surprise appearance by Prince William, led the event in the weekly “Clap for the NHS” at 8pm.
At the end of the night, the event had raised over £27 million with the UK Government agreeing to match all public donations if they reached £20 million.
Watch one of the night’s performances, a Live Lounge All Stars cover of ‘Times Like These’ below:
