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.

There's a bit of a backlash nowadays too to the whole CIN and Comic Relief. Many people are trying to keep their head above water and unfortunately we now know that the money doesn't always get to the people the need it.
It may have been a nice idea when it first started with the right ideas behind it but it's had its day now.

No. It wasn't always awful. I'm old enough to remember being a kid in the early 80s and it being a massive thing that we'd look forward to being allowed to stay up late for! It was entertaining and, genuinely, funny. It got bad as the years went by. So much so, that I hadn't even realised it was Children in Need until I saw this thread!

I generally ignore it, cringey, but I did catch paddy McGuinness going 8n to Glasgow onnR2 and welled up a bit. He sounded genuinely knackered and touched.

I think it needs to be put out of its misery, along with Comic Relief. Times have changed and whereas before, this was probably the only time people could learn about charities and see the work they do and then donate, we don’t need to be spoon fed anymore - charities can reach people on other platforms and no one needs to sit through a night of self promotion from radio personalities in order to support a cause.

It never sat right with me that you had a whole TV extravaganza and all the costs associated with that in order to ask the public for money. Who pays for the cost of Paddy to ride a Chopper round the country? Then they ask people on minimum wage to cough up a tenner for charity.

The shine has come off celebrity - even Beyoncé and Gaga couldn’t get Kamala into the White House.

Telethons were a good idea once but that time has now passed.

It's awful and has been for a few years now. It and comic relief sadly reflects the calibre of "stars" we currently have in light entertainment.

I work in a school where half of our children are entitled to free school meals and many families use food banks.

We do a non uniform day for CiN. I feel dreadful about it as it’s our children that are in need. At least with just that it’s up to parents if they feel they can contribute.

That said, one year we didn’t do anything and we had so many complaints!

I seem to recall they stopped the money raised updates and the late nights when they started to raise less than the previous year. And so never got to the “we have beaten last year!” announcement.

There was one godawful year where they played the eastenders clip, the cast then trooped onto the stage, and then were ushered off straight away without doing anything. Bet they thought what a waste of our time.

It’s always been crap to watch, but it dies raise a lot of money. I just ignore it all.

The only thing I like about Children in Need is the Countryfile calendar (and as I no longer use an actual calendar I no longer buy one), and it's lovely pictures of our wonderful nature.

Years ago I used to watch the One Show (when Matt Baker and Chris Evans were doing it) and I liked their cycle for Children in Need, saying that I caught a bit of Countryfile the other night who did a walk for Children in Need so it seems those little things are still going.

Never watched the actual programme, I just get annoyed it means programmes get shifted about or not shown.

I can't believe people still watch it! Last time I watched it was about 1998 😂

Sorry the one day I cant stand, dressing up as a ridiculous yellow bear is saving children how? Then you have to listen to millionaires guilt tripping ordinary people into donating money

Sorry I sound like the Scrooge of this day but I think it's bs

It's the endless lead up that annoys me. The BBC relentlessly self promoting itself. Yellow bear tipping up with no context, on various shows with presenters pretending to talk to it. It's infantile. Just enough now.

'Coloured'?

Always been shit

Can’t watch strictly anymore either , these days they just try to rape your empathy the BBC.
Trying to label themselves as caring.
Not really though are they.
Two words Jimmy Saville

I agree with all the other criticisms but this point, which you often see made,, is just silly. Of course they have to have reserves, like all organisations, and large income means large reserves are needed. It's the responsible (and indeed legally mandated) thing to do

They fund thousands of projects, many of them with commitments over multiple years, deal with unknown future economic conditions, and have unpredictable income. It's not just like keeping your savings in a biscuit tin and spending them on a "when it's gone it's gone" basis.

Don’t be patronising. I am well aware of the need for reserves. They don’t need £90 million..

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles well I thought it was funny 😂

If you're so lacking in basic knowledge, then reasonable responses will appear patronising. It's a you problem.

I agree, but didn't they say it was somewhere in the region of £10k for the evening?

That's a huge amount of money to me and to most people; but if you're on the kind of wages that Terry and his peers are/we're on, it probably wouldn't stand out as anything special.

I think the criticism of him being paid for that particular job was very justified; but you can't criticise a household name celebrity per se for being a very high earner.

... Not that you personally were criticising him for being rich, of course...

Yes, I remember seeing Paul McCartney on one of these CIN/CR nights about 10 or 15 years ago. He was proudly holding up a cheque for £1,000 that he was donating - and everybody was saying how very generous he was.

It's like you or I tossing them 2p and gushing about how we really don't want praise (except we do really)!

It also annoys me on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, where rich celebs say they'll donate the difference themselves if they gamble and lose. Why not give the money yourself anyway - as well as the winnings even if your gamble pays off?!

Even if it is for charity, it seems silly when they have billionaires going on a programme that asks if they want to be a millionaire. That's probably their worst nightmare, the thought of only being worth a million!!

Don’t watch it . Do feel it would be nice to alternate it a bit to one year doing an aged in need. Help our older people in need a bit more a bit too. Just an idea ?

The BBC should be sold off and the proceeds given to the poor.

No, he has two eyes, the reason for the patch is well documented.