To think Children in Need is absolutely shit?

[O6bftdff]

Was it always this bad? I haven’t watched it in years and years but remember once looking forward to it. Turned it on tonight and it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever watched. Almost embarrassing.

Used to be fun, back in the day … Celebs doing daft and unexpected things - now they do that sort of stuff all the time, so it’s no longer suprising to see a Newsreader singing and dancing etc

It’s the same garbage recycled .. a special Strictly / Dr Who / Quiz etc. Plus, same old recycled BBC presenters

Comic Relief went the same way, I remember the early days, it was chaos - then it just became over-produced.

No clue why people cried at someone doing a bike ride ..

Sure but the sad piano music and close ups of sad faces and the resilience lesson. It’s so bad.

BBC is more insufferable now than ever before. Its all the late 90s northern lads and ladettes in charge.

It's horrible, manipulative shite. It always has been.

No TV programme is ever complete without a professional Northerner.

In the old days you had a couple of TV channels. It was a special occasion because it was different.

I blame Bob Geldof

"Give us your fucking money"

Fuck off Bob

It did used to go on past midnight and Terry Wogan used to host all the way through

It's mostly crap, but I hope it raises lots of money as the causes are good and the children deserve it.

That is a very good point

Yeah at the end of the day does it matter if the tv show is shit?

At least they've made the donating easy. Scan the QR code. Press Apple Pay. Done. Then turn it the heck off. Dire

The organisation has £90 million in the bank. £90 million! They can whistle if they think they deserve any money from me - go spend what you’ve got already..

I agree that it seems to end so soon nowadays - same as Comic Relief.

It used to be 7-10 on BBC1, then 10-10:30 on BBC2 whilst the news was on BBC1, then back to BBC1 from 10:35 until about 2am.

Maybe they're figuring that, with social media and online content nowadays, they can keep the momentum going across the different media, rather than it all being TV-led?

This sums it up perfectly. CIN and Comic Relief used to be two of the TV highlights of the year back on the 90s and early 00's.

And there was always a switch to BBC 2 during the news then a more late night, outrageous tone afterwards when the younger viewers should have gone to bed.

Not sure exactly when they both started to lose their way but I haven't watched either for years.

In the past the all night fund raiser show was a big event. ITV used to have the telethon as well. I remember the early comic relief shows going on late into the night. But as said up thread it might just be because there were only 4 channels and you had to watch what was on.

I can’t watch it at all anymore.
It's utterly dire and cringeworthy

It used to be much more entertaining. When everyone sat down of an evening to watch tv because that was the only form of entertainment. There were 2/3/4 channels and that was it. Loads of celebs did silly / fun things and loads of effort was put into it. Terry wogan really made it too.
You watched it as it was fun seeing all your favourite celebs and programmes doing something different and fun / making fools of themselves. Half the country watched corrie / eastenders and seeing most of the cast singing together / dressing up and being silly was so fun.
But now; we all watch so many different things, celebs aren’t house hold names in the same way anymore. Just doesn’t work as well as a format now for many reasons.

I never really ‘got’ CiN when Comic Relief was of the same vein but better (though I was a 90s child and missed a lot of the Live Aid type marathons of its time). Don’t even tune into CR anymore, I actually remember the exact moment of thinking ‘this is BS’. It was years ago, David Tennant was doing a segment, angry/crying at the screen about how people needed to donate to save some (undeniably) poor children. Just thought ‘you pompous twat, you’re the biggest star on the BBC right now, paid through the nose and you dare sad face the majority of us who are lucky to have a spare £10 at the end of the month?’. Perhaps it was mostly based on my fortune (or lack of) at the time, but turns out I wasn’t wrong about DT regardless.

I always remember it being dire. Like a really low rent version of comic relief. They never seemed to anything meaningful or amusing and it just seemed relentless. I'm not a fan of paddy McGuiness if he's on it. That bloody teddy bear mascot with the patch on his eye..I wanted to punch the other eye! 🤣🤣
I remember me and my mates joking that we were 'children in need'... of a decent night's telly!

All for charideeee though so of course accept a load of televisual effluent.
I wonder how much all those smug celebs get paid to support it 🙃

Worthwhile cause but not watchworthy tv. Was so boring.

Mel Giedroyc?

It irritates me how they keep on urging people to say Yes when asked if they want to Gift Aid their donations, without adding "if you're a taxpayer".

I know all money is gratefully received but it does rather give the impression that non-taxpayers wwhk give are either mean and/or their gifts are inferior.

Also, there seem to be more extremely rich people nowadays who offer to match the plebs' giving. Of course, the extra money is great; but they aren't actually giving money - they're buying themselves good PR (and probably write a lot of it off their high-rate tax bill anyway).

Incidentally, with the competitions to win the car and the Strictly final tickets... I wonder how many people text 'cancel' to get their entry free, without donating?