Image source, BBCPress
Image caption, The presenting team this year consists of Jason Manford, Ade Adepitan, Alex Scott, Chris Ramsey, Lenny Rush and Mel Giedroyc
Actor Lenny Rush, 14, will become BBC Children in Need’s first-ever child presenter when the programme airs on Friday.
The Bafta-winning actor will be joined by Ade Adepitan, Mel Giedroyc, Jason Manford, Chris Ramsey and Alex Scott for the three-hour live show.
This year’s appeal also includes Radio 2’s Vernon Kay’s Ultra UltraMarathon, which has so far raised £3.1 million.
The televised appeal starts at 19:00 GMT on BBC One.
Children in Need has raised more than £1bn for charities and projects since its first major appeal in 1980.
Rush, who won a Bafta for best male comedy performance for his role as Ollie in the BBC series Am I Being Unreasonable?, appeared in a sketch show for Children in Need last year.
In an interview with the Guardian, he said he was nervous to be presenting this year’s live show but “I think the excitement outweighs the nervousness”.
He added: “If I’d said no, and then I watched it that night, I would be gutted I wasn’t there.”
Image caption, BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay is running an ultra-marathon to raise money for Children in Need
Fundraising events for this year’s appeal have been running all week in the run-up to the TV broadcast, including Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay’s ultra-marathon attempt.
Kay has been challenged to travel from Leicester to Bolton – a distance of 115 miles – over four days by foot and is due to finish on Friday at midday.
Speaking to Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball on Friday morning, Kay joked that the rain had started just as he was heading for the finish line.
“We get to God’s country, the beautiful sun is rising as I turn to my left and the rain is falling at a constant pace, I can’t believe it. Can you believe it? We’ve done all them miles and we get eight miles away from Bolton and it starts chucking it down,” he said.
Kay has regularly been appearing live on Radio 2 to update listeners on his progress.
Friday’s televised Children in Need event will also include an exclusive behind the scenes look at the latest episode of Doctor Who, a performance from Little Mix star Leigh-Anne and a visit to Graham Norton’s notorious Big Red Chair.
BBC Children in Need airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 19:00 on Friday.