That Comic Relief was the biggest pile of crap

We only lasted 10 minutes…and that is with one of the main presenters being one of my neighbours 🙄

2024 - 153 employees with staff costs of £9.29 million.

I don't know why they need 97 presenters.
I lasted 10 minutes, and feel very old.

In 2024, £53.77 million was raised. £34.75 million of that was spent on charitable activities. 64%. Just over £11 million was spent on raising funds.

It hasn't really been funny since the first one. That was because it was unusual to see non comedy people (news readers etc) doing funny things. Now it's commonplace.

Just so you're left in no doubt, I absolutely do not want my donations going to trans charities.

I found Lenny Henry’s recap the most interesting part, and it was good to see the update on some of the projects, especially the reduction in malaria-related children’s deaths.

However, wasn’t really bothered by the repeats all evening. Next year, they just need a night of comics, doing stand up.

As someone said above, love the cause and what it’s achieved, and i don’t think it’s gone in the pockets of directors. A £x million pound business needs to pay the going rate for that business, whether it’s a charity or a manufacturer.

It gives 100% of the money to the poor instead of letting all the leaches get their hands on it first leaving the poor person with hardly anything.

@OonaStubbs you really should provide some evidence before you spout stuff like it’s a scam

@OonaStubbs you are joking aren’t you. What about projects that need infrastructure, how does giving a few pennies to someone on the street help?

It's been running for 40 years and yet there are more poor people than ever before. The only people it has helped are the celebrities who are richer than ever before. It's a scam and it should not be allowed to continue.

The money raised is significant
it simply wouldn’t be acquired without cause and effect

it is multigenerational

yes some celebs are rolled out, Ofcourse they are they’re entertainers- some of them have also literally pushed themselves to physical extremes to raise money

I have seen first hand some of the work CR has done. And the statements on their website explains where the money goes. It’s publicly available information

unless you have personally raised millions and it’s gone exactly where you want it to … you let specialist organisations (or charities) manage that.
You might not like all the work they do- so opt out- but don’t be so utterly dismissive of an event which literally helps put food on the table in some of our most vulnerable families both at home and further away.

your privilidge reeks.

I'm not downplaying what Jamie did in the least... but isn't he absolutely loaded - heir to an enormous fortune? Or am I thinking of somebody else?

He and his family could probably have quietly given 10 times what he raised without even noticing it gone.

Just noticed my brain-fart - that was meant to say 'decent salaries' and not 'decent charities'!

@Bbq1 I remember there was always a massive buzz about the official Comic Relief single too, particularly Who Do You Think You Are for the Spice Girls and even in the early 00s with Peter Kay and Tony Christie doing Amarillo. I have absolutely no idea if they even still do an accompanying single these days.

I think a large question is WHICH charities and 'good causes' benefit, and what the choosing criteria are

I agree, @BeholdOurButterStinketh, and would add a further question as to who's doing the choosing and where their interests lie

Long experiience has taught that it's pretty uncommon to find a genuine philanthropist who isn't interested in bringing personal soapboxes into it, but in many ways they make the best drivers for this kind of thing

Absolutely. It was massive through the nineties and was still quite big when my 19 yr old ds was in Primary, he loved the noses. It just seems very tired now especially with LH retiring. It was one of the first 'telethons" of it's kind and you could watch the phone operators taking the calls for donations and it was exciting. It used to go on until about 3am and was genuinely funny. I think it's time for it to somehow be totally revamped or put out to pasture. Admittedly, it still does raise a lot of money for good causes.

I didn’t think comedy was allowed any more. No one can laugh at themselves and if you poke fun at anyone else you’re arrested

No, but that is my suspicion, having known been around some charity people. Hardly any of the money actually gets to the needy.

It'd be far more effective if people wanting to donate just gave their money to someone they see on the street that looks poor. At least you know then that 100% of the money is actually going to them.

Love the cause, not the show, did not watch it and feel I made the correct decision.

I have absolutely no problem donation money to Comic Relief and CIN..
However the tv segment was very weak.
On the other hand if you listen to radio1 and are on Instagram then look up Jamie Lang running 5 ultra marathons last week. I was in awe of him and his achievement.
My whole family donated.

God, does every thread have to be about this?

On the point of the thread, I saw the advert, didn't laugh once, didn't bother watching.

yeah, we all think that,
what we don't want is men in our spaces and the biologically impossible bullshit that the BBC is touting about men becoming women and we should all be kind whilst they're in our changng rooms.
Anyway, not watched CR in many many years and was quite surprised it's still on.
I;m not surprised it wasn't funny, I find it hard to watch most BBC programmes as they are just shit

I am not. Believe it or not, outside of your echo chamber there are actually a lot of women who think trans people deserve to be treated with respect and humanity too.

I thought Davina wasn’t in the right space for it last night. She’s been so unwell and through so much; it was just too early for her.

Apart from that I found it miserable and switched off.