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Children in Need 2018: All-time total reaches £1bn

Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc hosted part of the five-hour show

Children in Need has now raised over £1bn since it began the annual fundraiser in 1980.

It comes after a record-breaking £50.6m was donated during Friday's programme, which featured Boyzone taking to the Strictly dance floor.

The five-hour show also saw the cast of EastEnders dress up as Disney characters and perform a medley.

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker made an appearance on the charity extravaganza, surprising a young fan.

The total raised surpassed 2017's previous on-the-night record of £50.1m.

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The show opened with a performance from the cast of musical School of Rock, followed by a welcome by the first set of hosts, Tess Daly and Ade Adepitan.

The cast of musical School of Rock sang a medley including Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk and Taylor Swift's Shake It Off
The cast of musical School of Rock sang a medley including Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk and Taylor Swift's Shake It Off

Complete with Disney costumes, the EastEnders cast performed songs from Beauty and the Beast, Frozen and Aladdin.

PA (left to right) Natalie Cassidy as Silly Girl, Maisie Smith as Silly Girl, Zack Morris as Aladdin, Lorraine Stanley as the Genie, Shona McGarty as Belle, Tilly Keeper as Jasmine and Stephen Rahman-Hughes as the Tavern Keeper, as the cast of Eastenders perform a medley of Disney songs in Albert Square for Children In Need.PA
The cast of EastEnders put on a special performance with an Aladdin theme
Jessie Wallace and Pudsey
Jessie Wallace swaps Kat Slater for Elsa to sing Let It Go from Frozen

Also in the programme, the four members of Boyzone performed routines on Strictly Come Dancing.

Ronan Keating said it was "totally out of our comfort zone" while judge Bruno Tonioli praised band member Shane Lynch for "starting like a true leading man".

Ronan Keating on Strictly /Children in Need
The four members of Boyzone performed with their Strictly partners
The four members of Boyzone performed with their Strictly partners
Children's choirs from all across the UK sang in unison
Children's choirs from all across the UK sang in unison

Meanwhile, Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker surprised a young fan who was on a trip to the set of the sci-fi show.

A Doctor Who fan was surprised by the woman herself
A Doctor Who fan was surprised by the woman herself

On social media, many people said they were tickled by a moment when an audience member appeared to stand up by mistake when Tess Daly asked for volunteers in the audience to get up.

"It made my night," somebody tweeted, while someone else said: "I'm howling."

Hosts for the TV marathon this year included Tess Daly, Graham Norton, Mel Giedroyc, Ade Adepitan, Rochelle and Marvin Humes and Rob Beckett.

Rob Beckett, Ade Adepitan, Mel Giedroyc, Graham Norton, Tess Daly and Marvin and Rochelle Humes

In another clip, Eddie Redmayne and Zoe Kravitz played a prank on The One Show presenter Alex Jones, with the help of some children who secretly gave them instructions such as making sheep noises and gargling water.

The pair then admitted to the joke, with Ms Jones saying: "I was thinking what is wrong with these two. They are being so weird."

PA Eddie Redmayne and Zoe Kravitz played a joke on The One Show presenter Alex Jones with the help of (left to right) Vidhit Nihal, 8, Kelsey Wheatley, 7, and Lucy Subbiah, 9 during The One Show for BBC Children in NeedPA
Eddie Redmayne, Alex Jones and Zoe Kravitz are helped by (left to right) Vidhit Nihal, Kelsey Wheatley and Lucy Subbiah

Jazz musician and broadcaster Jamie Cullum has written the official Children in Need single, Love Is In The Picture.

Children in Need is the BBC's official UK charity and raised a total of £60.7m for disadvantaged children across the country last year.

The charity is currently supporting 2,400 projects helping children facing a range of disadvantages, such as poverty, abuse or physical disability.

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