Stars from across the globe have rallied together to thank the public for 25 years of supporting Comic Relief. Raising 600 million for the charity in the years it has been active, Britons have received thanks from the biggest names in showbusiness for their generous efforts. Marking February 5 as the day the first telethon was aired, Lenny Henry, Jimmy Carr, Dermot O'Leary and Claudia Winkleman are just a few of the big names that have joined together to celebrate the landmark moment for the charity. Speaking via video link, chat show host Jonathan Ross and Million Pound Drop presenter Davina McCall spoke to This Morning's Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about the celebrations, as well as sharing some of the tear-jerking events from their work in Ghana.
Jonathan, who has publically supported the charity since 1988, said to the pair: "I am live down near the coast here in Ghana at a mother and child centre. We are basically seeing where some of the money that's been raised over the last twenty five years of Red Nose Day is being spent." "There'll be a million vaccinations being given out across Africa thanks to Comic Relief, so it's a million potential lives we're saving." Davina added: “A baby’s cry when it's being vaccinated is the best sound you can hear. It's the sound of a child's life being saved. Thanks to the UK public you will have helped provide one million vaccines across Africa. Let's keep up the good work.” Emma Willis also made a return to the This Morning sofa after presenting the Hell and High Water challenge in Zambia.
Melanie Chisholm, Dara O'Briain and Greg James were a few of the stars who took part in the challenge, which saw the celebs push themselves to swim the 100 km-long Zambezi river. The high tension challenge led to some serious dangers for the star squad, as a wrong turn saw Mock The Week comedian Dara hanging from a branch suspended over the river while he waited for the rescue team.
Emma said, "I was so scared for him - forty minutes hanging on to a tree. And he did say at one point 'shall I just let go and see what happens?' It was terrifying." When asked if she'll be getting involved in anything else, Emma confessed, "I'm going to be doing a dare! Lots of people are doing dares." Holly also revealed that she will be doing a dare for the charity, taking the lead from Price Tag singer Jessie J, who will be shaving off her raven locks for the fund. "I'm doing a dare actually," said the presenter. "Jessie J is daring me to do something and I don't know what it is yet." Emma added, "I'm terrified of snakes, so I'm gonna do something with snakes.... I hate them!"
Speaking in the UK, charity creator Richard Curtis thanked the public for changing the the face of the African continent. "These days Africa is a vastly different continent to the one I visited all those years ago," said the Black Adder scriptwriter. "Six of the world’s fastest growing economies are in now in Africa. And major progress has been made in fighting diseases, increasing literacy rates and addressing injustice. The Love Actually creator added: "But there’s still much to do, both in Africa and here in the UK. We must keep up the good work.” Thanks to the generosity of the British public, Comic Relief have helped more than one million children in Africa and the world’s poorest countries get an education. The charity has also treated one million people suffering from AIDS, as well as curing 2.4 million people suffering from blindness. The money has also helped ten million people across the UK with mental health and disability issues.