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Children in Need
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<p><i>BBC Children in Need</i> is the <a href="/facts/BBC/qFateIz8">BBC</a>'s UK <a href="/facts/Charitable_organization/x8frlCm4">charity</a> dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its fundraising efforts. </p><p>The charity's flagship event is an annual <a href="/facts/Telethon/wHQ72B3s">telethon</a> broadcast every November on <a href="/facts/BBC_One/t4SaSm6X">BBC One</a> and <a href="/facts/BBC_Two/TErpjSD4">BBC Two</a>. Pudsey Bear has served as its mascot, while the late Sir <a href="/facts/Terry_Wogan/QQIz1wwr">Terry Wogan</a> hosted the event for 35 years. As a cornerstone of British television, Children in Need is one of the UK's two major telethons, alongside <a href="/facts/Comic_Relief/f6rcrKB0">Comic Relief</a>'s <a href="/facts/Red_Nose_Day/VRJPVDEz">Red Nose Day</a>. It remains the BBC's sole in-house charity. </p><p>Originally broadcast from the <a href="/facts/Television_Centre%2c_London/KW8NSgJa">BBC Television Centre</a>, the telethon relocated to the <a href="/facts/BBC_Elstree_Centre/JftTf1jS">BBC Elstree Centre</a> between 2013 and 2020 following the closure of the former. Historically lasting up to seven hours, the event was streamlined to a three-hour programme (7:00 pm to 10:00 pm) from 2020 onwards. To accommodate family-friendly content, the television <a href="/facts/Watershed_(broadcasting)/7NKEWuuw">watershed</a> is postponed until 11:30 pm on the night of the broadcast. </p><p>The 2020 telethon, impacted by the <a href="/facts/COVID-19_pandemic/0xTsh7Ut">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, featured a significantly reduced format with just four presenters: <a href="/facts/Mel_Giedroyc/PeY3kJpU">Mel Giedroyc</a>, <a href="/facts/Alex_Scott_(footballer%2c_born_1984)/A31x386P">Alex Scott</a>, <a href="/facts/Chris_Ramsey_(comedian)/HPn6QMy0">Chris Ramsey</a>, and <a href="/facts/Stephen_Mangan/UHYA4FUf">Stephen Mangan</a>. Since November 2021, the event has been staged at <a href="/facts/Dock10_(television_facility)/PdEEW6Xs">Dock10</a>, <a href="/facts/MediaCityUK/x8nQd2N2">MediaCityUK</a> in Salford. In October 2023, it was announced that <a href="/facts/Lenny_Rush/CWF1jHWX">Lenny Rush</a>—a children's television star and future <i><a href="/facts/Doctor_Who/R7X9rdLc">Doctor Who</a></i> actor—would become the first child co-presenter in the charity's history during the 2023 appeal broadcast. </p>