BBC Children In Need has raised more than £39 million following its annual fundraising show.

The call-in show featured stars including Oscar winner Gary Oldman, pop group Girls Aloud, chat show host Graham Norton, singer Kylie Minogue and Doctor actor Who Ncuti Gatwa, as well as the cast of Outnumbered, Gladiators and Strictly Come Dancing. professionals.

Ella Henderson and Rag’n’Bone Man were among those who provided musical entertainment during MediaCityUK’s live program in Salford.

At the end of the show, co-host Vernon Kay thanked viewers for their generosity, announcing that a total of £39,210,850 had been raised so far.

TV presenter and radio host Paddy McGuinness raised £8,856,580 after his ultra endurance cycling challenge on BBC Radio 2, which saw him travel across three countries and eight counties to complete a 300-kilometre cycle ride miles.

Meanwhile, Children In Need’s charity single 2024 was performed for the first time during the live show, which features a new version of Girls Aloud track Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) with the late Sarah Harding on lead vocals.

The song was originally released in 2004 as a Children In Need single and topped the UK charts for two weeks.

The 2024 version features Harding’s solo recording, with previously unreleased archival footage used in the video. The singer died in 2021 at the age of 39.

The Children In Need show also saw Rag’n’Bone Man perform an acoustic version of his track Put A Little Hurt On Me.

Introducing the singer on stage, presenter Kay told the audience: “He was so excited – it’s a true story – he was so excited to be part of tonight’s Children In Need, that he left her honeymoon early. What a guy.

Rag’n’Bone Man reportedly married Zoe Beardsall in West Sussex this weekend.

The charity event, co-hosted by The Saturdays star Rochelle Humes, Paralympian Ade Adepitan, TV presenter Mel Giedroyc, comedian and podcaster Chris Ramsey and Bafta TV award-winning actor Lenny Rush, also featured a preview of the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

The clip saw 15th Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan in the festive episode titled Joy To The World, taking on a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Meanwhile, pop superstar Minogue, who appeared in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special as Astrid Peth, asked Doctor Who fans to “bid for a piece of this story” in a pre-recorded video.

Her waitress costume from the episode titled Voyage Of The Damned is up for auction, alongside Jodie Whittaker’s Tardis used on the set of the 2022 episode Eve Of The Daleks.

Strictly Come Dancing professionals were also joined by animated TV dog Bluey to perform a playful dance with moves including mashed potato, alligator and dental floss in a pre-recorded segment broadcast on the show .

Stars who took part in the dance from home included comedians Josh Widdicombe, Miranda Hart and Frank Skinner, alongside Bez from Happy Mondays, star Jane McDonald and Sir Lindsay Hoyle in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Hollywood star Oldman read a special CBeebies Bedtime story written especially for Children In Need, based on a true story.

After eight years, the Outnumbered cast also reunited in a sketch to promote the Children In Need donation act, ahead of its BBC Christmas special.

The live show also featured famous faces, including JLS star Aston Merrygold, Strictly’s Nikita Kuzmin and Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill, taking a seat on Norton’s famous red chair, as they attempted to make a group of children laugh.

While stars of BBC’s Gladiators took part in a dance class alongside unexpected new recruits – the host’s Ramsey, Rush and Kay.

Popstar Henderson also sang a duet of her song Brave with a teenager who served as an ambassador for palliative care after the death of her father.

Children In Need funds family centres, community spaces, youth clubs and refuges, homeless shelters, hospices and helplines across the UK.