Lenny Rush is the latest addition to the presenting team of BBC Children in Need 2023.
Best-known for his role as Ollie in the Daisy May Cooper comedy drama series Am I Being Unreasonable?, for which he won an RTS Breakthrough Award, and having also starred in Doctor Who and Dodger, 14-year old Rush will be the annual shindig’s first-ever child host and joins a confirmed line up including Ade Adepitan MBE, Mel Giedroyc, Jason Manford, Chris Ramsey and Alex Scott MBE.
They will be live from dock10 at MediaCityUK, Salford, taking viewers through the evening of fun and fundraising on Friday November 17, 2023.
Rush said: “It’s an honour and a thrill to be the first child presenter for Children in Need. I can’t wait to feel the buzz of a live show and to help raise money for children and young people across the UK facing disadvantages. I’m so excited and look forward to all of you joining me from 7pm on Friday the 17th of November!”
A firm fixture in the viewing calendar, BBC Children in Need returns with a three-hour spectacle to entertain the nation while raising money for children and young people across the UK.
The presenters will guide viewers through a night of entertainment jam-packed with sketches, music, performances and surprises from some of the nation’s most loved stars. Further details will be revealed in the run up to the event.
Peter Davey, executive producer said: “We are all thrilled to have Lenny join us live on the night. The Children in Need audience fell in love with him when he took over the Celebrity Call Centre brilliantly in last year’s sketch – so getting him back to host for his first time this year is the next logical step.”
The money raised through BBC Children in Need’s 2023 Appeal will help children & young people overcome the additional challenges they currently face, including supporting children and young people living in poverty, providing emergency support to families in crisis, providing comfort to children feeling sad, lost and alone, helping children overcome social injustice and supporting children to feel safe and secure again.
Throughout the night, appeal films will feature some of the children and young people whose lives have been changed through the support of BBC Children in Need, and the project workers who work tirelessly to help them.
BBC Children in Need was commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning. The Senior Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Jo Wallace. Executive Producers are Peter Davey and Andrew Cartmell and Series Producer is Adam Wydrzynski, BBC Studios.
