What date is Children in Need 2019 on TV? Celebrities taking part to how to donate
Everything you need to know about the charity fundraiser right here
It’s that time of year again… Children in Need is back, with a host of famous faces on hand to raise money for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.
After its launch in 1980, the telethon fundraising event has since raised over £1 billion for good causes.
Here’s your guide on what’s happening, and who’s taking part this year.
When in Children in Need 2019 on TV?
The fundraiser is currently scheduled to hit screens on Friday 15th November on BBC One, starting at 7.30pm before concluding at 2am.
Which celebrities are taking part?
This year’s theme is ‘Get Together’, which is hoping those looking to raise money for Children in Need will make it a team effort – be it three-legged races, bake sales or quizzes and even daredevil or once in a lifetime challenges.
Famous faces backing the Get Together theme include Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly, Strictly: It Takes Two host Rylan Clark-Neal, and The Hit List hosts Marvin and Rochelle Humes. Graham Norton, Mel Giedroyc and Ade Adepitan will also be back.
Tom Allen will also be making his Children in Need debut.
“I am intensely proud to be supporting BBC Children in Need again this year,” Daly said.
"In the last year alone, BBC Children in Need has been able to make a real difference to 600,000 young lives in communities the length and breadth of the UK - that's incredible, and it is all down to people up and down the UK coming together to help make a difference.
"I hope they do it again this year, because it really will change young lives.”
Which programmes have upcoming Children in Need specials?
The first programme to get us in the giving spirit is Children in Need: Got It Covered, which sees a series of A-listers band together to release an album comprised of a list of cover songs which they hold close.
The full line up is as follows:
Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker; former Time Lord David Tennant; Harry Potter and The King’s Speech star Helena Bonham Carter; Jim Broadbent; the now Oscar-winning Olivia Colman; Misfits and Doctor Who’s Shaun Dooley; Beauty and the Beast’s Luke Evans; Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack’s Suranne Jones; Hustle’s Adrian Lester; and Yesterday star Himesh Patel.
The 90 minute special airs Wednesday 30th October at 7.30pm on BBC One.
Other programming includes a DIY SOS special, seeing the team have just nine days to build a new centre from scratch for Little Miracles charity – which helps children with additional need and life-limiting conditions.
Nick Knowles and the team have to build a brand new building in Peterborough, making it their biggest build ever in the history of the show. he DIY SOS calls for help through twitter, local radio, and newspapers were answered by hundreds of volunteers including decorators, electricians, carpenters, joiners, landscapers, builders, plasterers and royal engineers.
The special airs Wednesday 13th November, 8pm on BBC One.
The One Show will also welcome back The Rickshaw Challenge for its ninth year as Matt Baker leads a team of six on an eight-day cycling challenge.
This year sees the group cycle 400 miles from Holyhead to London, arriving back in time foe the live telethon.
Elsewhere on the radio, Rylan Clark-Neal sang a 24 hour non-stop karaoke extravaganza. The challenge kicked off the end of the Zoe Ball Breakfast show at 9am on Tuesday 12 November, with Rylan belting out karaoke classics.
Rylan said of the challenge: “My love of karaoke is absolutely no secret and so I’m incredibly excited to take to the microphone and raise as much as I possibly can for BBC Children in Need."
He's done well so far - having raised well over a one million (but having lost his voice in the process).
On the big night itself, there's plenty to get excited about - opening the show is Jay McGuinness in a performance from Big: The Musical. As always, there's a Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need special, in addition to Doctor Who and Star Wars specials and a celebrity version of the music quit show The Hit List.
Graham Norton's infamous red chair from his chat show will now be taken over by a selection of young carers who will have the power to flip over celebrities who fail to impress, while footballers Harry Kane, Marcus Ashford and Raheem Stirling go to surprise children from the England Amputee Football Association.
But that's not all we can look forward to, with music performance on the night coming from Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, as well as former One Directioner Louis Tomlinson.
Who is in the Strictly Come Dancing special?
It's an EastEnders line-up this year with Ricky Champ, who plays Stuart Highway, Maisie Smith, who plays Tiffany Butcher, and Rudolph Walker aka Patrick Trueman, who will make history as the oldest Strictly contestant ever, all taking part. The trio will also be joined by Louisa Lytton, aka Ruby Allen who was the youngest ever contestant when she competed in series four.
How much did Children in Need raise for charity last year?
A record-breaking £50.6 million was raised last year, in a show which saw the EastEnders cast sing a medley, and Jodie Whittaker surprise a pair of young Doctor Who fans.
How do you donate in Children in Need?
A phone number is usually touted during the telethon on the night, which will be added as soon as it's confirmed. For now, though, you can always donate online by clicking here.
Children in Need launches Friday 15th November at 7.30pm on BBC One. To find out more about donating, click here.
