BBC Children in Need night 2008
The time had come for a galaxy of stars to Do Something Different for BBC Children in Need. Terry Wogan, Tess Daly and Fearne Cotton were your hosts for a stellar line-up of fun on BBC One.
McFly kicked-off the show, singing a crowd-pleasing rendition of the official single for this year's event, Stay with Me.
The first hour saw Alesha Dixon talk to some starry Pudsey call centre staff, otherwise known as the EastEnders cast! Then former Albert Square resident Emma Barton sang You To Me Are Everything.
After a hilarious Merlin clip and a performance from Boyzone, it was time for a special Children's Masterchef and some top-end dining!
Duffy then sang Rain On Your Parade shortly before Girls Aloud appeared, and then at the close of the hour the first total of the evening was announced - a whopping £5,979,296!
The next stage kicked off with the cast of The Bill singing The Blues Brothers, followed by the cast of the new West End revival of Oliver!
Fearne then stepped into Bruce's shoe for a special edition of Strictly Come Dancing. Tess was partnered with Strictly dancer Anton, whilst Terry was with Flavia for a dance-off.
Tess wowed the judges and they awarded her 36 points to Terry's 29. The studio audience agreed and Tess and Anton waltzed away as the champions.
Her triumph was followed by X Factor winner, Leon Jackson, singing Creative.
Then came the moment that Doctor Who fans were waiting for - the exclusive preview of this year's Christmas Special. Could David Morrissey really be the next Doctor?
Worlds collided in a different way when Gok Wan landed in Coronation Street for a special edition of How to Look Good Naked! The makeover special was followed by Girls Aloud raising the roof at Television Centre, which then led to the next total raised update - £10,462,062!
The Royle Family exclusively reunited to record a message for BBC Children in Need. Then it was back to the music as EastEnders went up West to perform a selection of songs from hit shows before Take That took to the stage for their first TV performance of the rather apt Greatest Day.
With the first leg of the show over, it was announced that the total now stood at £11,461,855.
Here come the Girls - the Sugababes stepped up a gear - as did Richard Hammond when he went back in time as Top Gear met Ashes to Ashes. The total also went up - to £13,736,493
McFly then returned to sing the second song from the official BBC Children in Need single, Do Ya.
Then it was time for one of the night's long-standing traditions, the turn of the BBC newsreaders to strut their stuff and sing - this year they sang a medley of ABBA tracks from Mamma Mia!
Duffy appeared next, singing her smash hit single Mercy, while Alesha sang her new track, the catchy Boy Does Nothing. The cast of Hairspray continued to rock the house, as did unlikely singing stars the DIY SOS crew. With Il Divo, Boyzone, Jason Donovan and Will Young all on the bill, it was like Top of the Pops had never ended.
And then came the announcement that the total now stood at £18,127,452 - very close to last night's closing figure on the night.
After another chance to see the Doctor Who clip and the EastEnder's West End spot, James Morrison and Keisha Buchanan stepped up to the mic to sing Broken Strings. They were followed by Russell Watson singing Me and Mrs Jones. The total then rose to £19,934,232.
Terry then led the show to a rousing finale. Katie Melua sang Closest Thing to Crazy and then we saw an appeal clip with Hollywood star Colin Farrell. Sadly, Razorlight were not able to perform because singer Johnny Borrell went down with a sore throat but they were able to explain to Fearne what had happened and were really sorry not to go on stage.
Holby star Sharon D Clarke and Revelation sang a stirring version of Aint No Mountain High Enough - which proved to be a prophetic end. Terry was able to close the evening by announcing that the Appeal Night had raised a record-breaking and whopping £20,991,216.
© MMIX