BBC Children in Need - Tonight!

BBC Children in Need 2011 is to air it's seven-hour long live TV broadcast from BBC Television Centre tonight from 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC One HD. Features of the evening include:

On November 18th, BBC Children in Need’s annual Appeal Night returns. Sir Terry Wogan, Tess Daly, Fearne Cotton and Alesha Dixon will present one of television’s biggest nights of the year, live from BBC Television Centre. 

In an appeal with more associated programming than ever before, this will see the high point of the 2011 campaign. TV’s biggest names will give their all with a massive array of sketches, musical acts, live guests and plenty of glamour. 

One Direction will open the Appeal Night programme, with music guests including JLS, Westlife, Susan Boyle and specially formed for Children in Need The Collective (featuring Gary Barlow, Ed Sheeran, Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk, Ms. Dynamite, Tulisa, Wretch 32, Rizzle Kicks, Mz Bratt, Dot Rotten and Labrinth) with the Children in Need single "Teardrop".

Kylie Minogue, Daniel Craig, Jessie J, Cheryl Cole, Zoe Ball and EastEnders’ Jo Joyner will all make appeal film contributions; Lord Sugar will enter the Dragons’ Den in The Dragons’ Apprentice and there’ll be sketches from Vic & Bob and a special edition of Russell Howard’s Good News.

The cast of EastEnders will rock Albert Square as The Vic does Queen, the cast of Hollyoaks will appear live in the studio, and there will be a performance of "Hey Hey We’re the Monkees" from the Outnumbered kids and Gok Wan will also be singing his own number. The Muppets will lead an all-star version of the classic song "Manah, Manah" with Miss Piggy and Kermit joined by a cast ranging from Harry Hill and Davina McCall to Gary Lineker and Alan Hansen.

In a cornerstone of the evening, Gareth Malone will lead a 10-strong choir who will link up live with 3,000 children from all over the UK including Bristol, Leeds, the West Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester, Cornwall, Cardiff, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, South East Kent, London, Hull, Norwich, Southampton, Newcastle and Leicester. 

The Newsreaders - Emily Maitlis, Sophie Raworth, Susanna Reid and Sian Williams - try their hand at ballroom and face Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood with their own Strictly Challenge. Nick Knowles will be in the studio for DIYSOS: The Big Build to celebrate their biggest makeover to date, and there’ll be an exclusive sneak peek at the Doctor Who Christmas special. The casts of Rock of Ages and The Wizard of Oz will also be live in the studio. 

There will be regional opt-outs so that each part of the nation can see what’s happening in their area to support BBC Children in Need.

Viewers across Northern Ireland will be treated to a fantastic night of entertainment including stories from local children and young people who have been supported by the charity and the fun and unusual ways in which local people have been raising money to make a difference this year. 

BBC Scotland will be hosting its Children in Need extravaganza live from its headquarters at Pacific Quay, presented by Jackie Bird in front of an audience of fundraisers. Along with a variety of top class comedians and performers, a special choir made up of children from all over Scotland will be singing on the night, with all the performances shown in a special highlights programme to go out on Saturday 19th November. 

BBC Cymru Wales will be broadcasting live from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff for this year’s appeal in Wales, hosted by Wales Today presenters Lucy Owen and Jamie Owen. Singing live on the night will be a Welsh choir made up of boys and girls aged 11-13 from schools in Cardiff and Newport. They’ll be ready to wow viewers at home as they link-up with choirs from around the UK, coming together under the baton of choirmaster Gareth Malone. 

Throughout the evening and for a highlights programme on Saturday 19 November, well-known Welsh personalities including Rhod Gilbert, Eve Myles, Connie Fisher and Colin Jackson will be showing how people’s money helps make a difference for disadvantaged children and young people in Wales.

There’ll be totaliser updates of the growing appeal total throughout the evening as the nation pulls together to support disadvantaged children throughout the UK. 

As well as a preview of the Christmas special, Doctor Who fans are treated also with the title of the episode, a mini sketch starring Matt Smith and news of a competition auction for Children in Need where you could win the Eleventh Doctor's costume, more info can be found here. 

Thousands of children around the UK are living in poverty, dealing with difficult lives and being abused, could you help them? Please, call 0345 7 33 22 33 to donate money to Children in Need. For more details and to donate online, head over to the official Children in Need website here.