Comic Relief returns with The Traitors and Eurovision sketches

The annual Comic Relief fundraiser has kicked off with sketches based on the show The Traitors and Eurovision.

Dame Mary Berry, Danny Dyer and Jamie Dornan are some of the stars featured.

More than £19 million has been raised so far, professional dancer Oti Mabuse announced live on the show.

This year’s fundraiser will support people struggling with the cost of living, food poverty, mental health issues and homelessness.

Comic Relief was founded in 1985 by Sir Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis with the aim of ending child poverty in the UK and around the world.

The 2023 schedule also includes AJ Odudu, David Tennant, Joel Dommett, Paddy McGuinness as presenters.

Live performances from Zara Larsson and Tom Grennan have come live from Salford.

Celebrities began raising money ahead of Friday night’s live show, with Radio 1’s Arielle Free taking part in a cycling challenge and BBC Morning Live’s Gethin Jones dancing for 24 hours.

The live TV event also included a video call from The Prince of Wales in which he meets homeless people who have been helped by Comic Relief.

Prince William said his mother would be “disappointed” to see the UK still not making progress in tackling homelessness and preventing it.

There will also be a parody sketch of The Traitors, featuring real life contestants Maddy and Wilf, alongside Dame Mary Berry and Danny Dyer.

Comedians Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Merchant and Rosie Jones will also star in the skit, with a twist as Dawn French takes on the role of Claudia Winkleman’s host.

Elsewhere in the show, Kylie Minogue makes an appearance as Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson reads a story as the character Baldrick.

Graham Norton, Lulu and British Eurovision Song Contest entrant Sam Ryder will pay tribute to the European music contest, playing a mock jury panel in search of the next British star to enter the contest.

Auditions come from Jamie Dornan, Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet and comedian Miranda Hart.

However, Eurovision fans are in for another treat as they did during the fundraiser, as two tickets to the Liverpool final will be given away by Eurovision presenters Scott Mills and Rylan Clark during the show.

The cast of Mrs Doubtfire The Musical will also give their first UK performance of the new show’s Make Me A Woman.

This year’s Red Nose was designed by Sir Jony Ive, who is best known as a designer for Apple.

Sir Jony said: ‘We grew up with Comic Relief and are proud to support their remarkable work.

“This new and seemingly simple Red Nose has been a fantastically complex little object to design and create and our whole team has been involved. We hope it’s a little moment of joy for everyone who wears one.”

It is made from plant material and can be purchased from the Comic Relief website or Amazon.