Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day telethon event this year raised £34m on the night, a fall of more than £4m on last year’s total.

The £38.6m raised last year on the night by the BBC staged telethon had been £6.6m up on the previous year and had followed a period of decline for the celebrity focused event.

However, this year’s event, which was staged on Friday 21 March marks a return to diminishing returns for spectacle, which at its peak in 2015 raised £78m.

In 2022 the event raised £42.8m on the night, and the previous year £52m was raised.

Another recent trend around telethon fundraisers such as Comic Relief as well as BBC Children in Need is the march of match funding campaigning.

This winter was the first time when a dedicated match funding campaign raised more than such established events.

Big Give’s The Christmas Challenge, raised £44.7m, £5m more than Children in Need last year.

This Christmas Challenge fundraiser also raised £6.1m more than last year’s Comic Relief on the night total and more than £10m above Friday’s event, which was also a celebration of 40 years of the comedy themed fundraiser.

Comic Relief said it “has been blown away by the unwavering support of the nation – including countless communities, schools, nurseries, workplaces, families and partners – who have once again gone above and beyond to do something funny for money and help raise vital funds to support millions of people who are being forced to make impossible choices every single day”.

It added: “The money raised will reach fantastic organisations who are delivering vital work to tackle some of the most urgent problems facing people here in the UK and across the world – including providing food, essential healthcare, safe shelter and so much more.”



This year celebrity presenters included Davina McCall, Rylan Clark, Joel Dommett and Tom Allen.

The event also included sketches based on BBC shows and performances from among others the Sugababes, as well as films “highlighting incredible and inspiring stories of the people supported” by Comic Relief in the UK and globally.

Comic Relief chief executive Samir Patel said: "On behalf of us all, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. Your extraordinary efforts have helped raise £34,022,590 that will help tackle some of the most urgent problems facing millions of people here in the UK and across the world.

“The kindness we’ve seen is nothing short of incredible, and every donation, big or small reminds us that when we come together, we can help inspire real and meaningful change. Forty years on, the power of laughter to change lives remains as true today as it did in 1985."

Over the past 40 years, Comic Relief has raised more than £1.6 billion and supported over 100 million people.

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