Children in Need 2011 was a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for Children in Need. 2011 marked the 31st anniversary of the appeal which culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One which began on the evening of Friday 18 November and ran until the early hours of Saturday 19 November. The broadcast was hosted by Terry Wogan, with Tess Daly, Alesha Dixon and Fearne Cotton as co-hosts. The show was broadcast from BBC Television Centre in London but also included regular regional opt-outs presented from various locations around the UK.
The telecast began at 19:30 GMT and ran for six and a half hours. As usual, the broadcast featured sketches and one-off episodes of British television shows, as well as musical performances from artists including JLS, One Direction and Susan Boyle.[1] The Collective performed their version of the Massive Attack song Teardrop, which is being released as the official Children in Need single for 2011.
The final total of money raised was revealed at 02:00 GMT as £26,332,334,[2] with the amount expected to rise over the following days. This exceeded the money raised after the 2010 telecast by almost £7 million.
BBC Children in Need Choir, conducted by Gareth Malone, star of the television series The Choir, and featuring numerous children around the country performing "Keep Holding On" simultaneously
The primary event was held at BBC Television Centre in London, with the main telethon and the preceding One Show special being located within the studios and outside respectively. In addition to this, each BBC Nation and Region also held individual celebrations. These celebrations typically lasted until approximately 22.00 and featured their own schedule, however would have events similar to the main telethon. These regional events were televised in opt out segments of the main telethon in which the region provided some entertainment and update on fundraising in the region. Each region also provided a choir of about 200 children who sang live in Gareth Malone's Children in need choir.[4] Each region and choir was based at the following locations:
These local events were hosted by members of the regional news service, usually either one of the main programme anchors, or other members of the team including sports and weather presenters.
As in previous years, the television programme Countryfile sold a calendar that raised over £1 million.
A special edition of The One Show directly preceded the telethon, in which presenter Matt Baker returned from his 500-mile rickshaw challenge in which he cycled from EdinburghtoBBC Television Centre, London. He arrived midway through the programme and described his journey. Through donations given to him personally and through text donations throughout the weeks One Show programmes, he raised over £1.2 million.
A special version of the television programme DIY SOS: The Big Build saw the team, along with the local community, renovate a dilapidated youth centre in Norris Green, Liverpool. The programme raised a large amount of money through text donations during the programme.
The listeners of BBC Radio 2 raised over £2 million through a variety of fundraising events including the Auction for things money can't buy, in which listeners bid for experiences such as to be part of an air tattoo or a makeover by Gok Wan among other things, their Children in Need Jukebox, in which members of the public are able to choose which songs they want to hear in exchange for a donation, and through the individual acts of the presenters and DJ's themselves.
The reception from television critics about the telecast was mixed. Michael Deacon, writing for the Telegraph, said "It's a great cause. The only thing that matters is the amount of money raised for the young and needy. That's what you keep reminding yourself as you sit through hour after hour of televisual chaff." He went on to put『Is there a man, woman or child in the country...who wouldn’t donate good money in return for a guarantee that they wouldn’t have to watch any of the above ever again?』He called the cause "wonderful" but ended his review by writing "advice for the viewer...donate as large a sum as you can early on, and then feel guilt-free about switching off your TV."[20]
