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15.03.03

TV ENTERTAINMENT

£35,174,798 - Biggest Ever Red Nose Day total announced at the end of 91Èȱ¬ ONE Comic Relief Red Nose Night

Comic Relief supporters on Friday 14 March raised an astounding £35 million, the most ever raised on a Red Nose Night since Comic Relief began.

The total beats the £22,501,431 raised by the end of Red Nose Day 2001 by a staggering £12.5 million.

Highlights of the night of comedy for Red Nose Day 2003 included Jack Dee overcoming a bitter wind, not to mention a full bladder, to last the entire night on the top of a 50 foot pole - despite suffering vertigo.

Jack said: "Someone's decided it's amusing for me to be in unpleasant situations - and they seem to have been right!"

Jack was helped through his high flying evening by messages from Bill Clinton, Julia Roberts, and an especially moving message from a naked Robbie Williams!

Will Mellor became the winner of the hugely successful Comic Relief Does Fame Academy.

Singing wannabes Ruby Wax, Doon Mackichan, Fearne Cotton, Kwame Kwei-Armah, John Thomson, Paul Ross, Jo Brand and Ulrika Jonsson entered the Academy last Friday and votes cast during the seven days raised a fantastic £600,000 for Comic Relief.

Perhaps the real stars of the Academy though were Ruby and Jo who performed a highly amusing version of the Cheeky Girls's hit, The Cheeky Song.

The intrepid learners of Comic Relief Does Celebrity Driving School found out that they had ALL failed!

Paul O'Grady, who at one point managed to crash his car before leaving his own drive, said, "It was a nightmare to start off with but I really got into it and although I failed I'm going to book another test straight away - I even drove here tonight. If you'd have said that to me two months ago I would have poured you another drink."

Other Red Nose moments included Bono and Larry Mullen Jnr. appearing on the Auf Wiedersehen Pet special; an exclusive glimpse at the new series of Ali G; a sketch from DoubleTake; a homage to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter with Miranda Richardson, Nigel Planer, Alison Steadman and Jeremy Irons, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ronnie Corbett and Basil Brush on their journey into a magical world of Hogwarts; Lenny Henry and Rowan Atkinson in a satirical look at the Martin Bashir interview with Michael Jackson.

And not forgetting EastEnders in a happy mood; Davina McCall in a celebrity Streetmate with Emma Bunton and Brian Dowling; Ricky Gervais giving Blue dance lessons for their performance on Top of the Pops; Doon Mackichan as Lady Godiva; University Challenge where non-graduate celebrities beat a celebrity graduate team.

BT made it all possible with 12,000 live operators all volunteering across the UK and 6,000 automated lines. BT also donated £200,000 through Lenny Henry's Speaking Clock.

Cheques presented throughout the night by Comic Relief corporate partners included:
- Sainsbury's £6 million
- Wella £300,000
- Mr Kipling £250,000
- Whitbread £400,000
- Walkers £1.4 million
- Littlewoods £1 million
- Persil £413,000

Over five million Red Noses were sold (from Sainsbury's and Oxfam) and over 100,000 t-shirts (from Littlewoods and Index stores).

And more than one million school children up and down the country wore Red Noses, with over 20,000 schools across the UK fundraising for Red Nose Day 2003, The Big Hair Do.

Parts of the UK even sold out of red hairspray as supporters rushed to do something with their hair to raise cash. One shop restocked on Friday morning and sold out for the second time that week in 20 minutes!

The campaign launched on 7 February and saw thousands of fundraisers do amazing things across the UK. Hairdressers got sponsored to snip and style, and there were heaps of other fundraising initiatives including Wine Relief and the Red Nose Day Fun Run sponsored by Vauxhall Corsa.

Plus original Comic Relief programming on the 91Èȱ¬ including the C91Èȱ¬ Comic Relief Show and Comic Relief… The Ultimate Makeover, and Battle of the DJs on 91Èȱ¬ Radio 1.

And Gareth and the Kumars have now sung their way to the top, climing the number one slot in the pop charts with the official Red Nose Day single, Spirit In The Sky.

The Comic Relief auction on eBay.co.uk has already raised over £7,000 - and there's still time to bid for items, including two walk-on parts for the new Thunderbirds film and a print of the Sophie Dahl picture used to promote Red Nose Day signed by Sophie and the photographer Nick Knight.

Kevin Cahill, Chief Executive of Comic Relief, said: "Thank you, thanks, cheers, merci from everybody at Comic Relief. It's been a truly amazing campaign, and Red Nose Day has been more successful than we ever imagined.

"And it's all down to the huge generosity of the British public."

It isn't too late to get involved. Donations can still be made by calling 08457 910 910 (local call rates apply), going online at , at any bank, building society or Post Office.

Or send a cheque made payable to Red Nose Day 2003, to Red Nose Day 2003, Ernst & Young, PO Box 678, London, EC4A 1NT.

Notes to Editors

Red Nose Day is about tackling poverty and social injustice in the UK and Africa.

Since its launch in 1985, Comic Relief has raised over £250 million.

One third of the money raised through Red Nose Day is allocated to projects working in the UK and two-thirds goes to projects working in Africa.

At Comic Relief we have a promise that for every pound Comic Relief gets directly from the public, a pound will go directly to projects helping the poorest and most disadvantaged people. We are able to keep this promise because we manage to cover our costs in other ways.

The costs of running Comic Relief are met in cash or in kind from all types of organisations; we get money and support from corporate partners and individual suppliers as well as drawing down some of the interest on our funds and on Gift Aid.

Comic Relief, registered charity 326568.

Freeview offers the 91Èȱ¬'s eight television channels, interactive services from 91Èȱ¬i, as well as 11 91Èȱ¬ radio networks.

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