Sir Lenny Henry has said that preparing to present his final Comic Relief is “very emotional”, and he’s “incredibly proud” of what its fundraising has achieved. The comedian co-founded the charity 39 years ago, and Friday’s Red Nose Day broadcast will be his last as host. “I think it needs new blood, and I’m definitely old blood. So it’s time for change,” Sir Lenny, 65, told BBC News. His co-hosts on this year’s show, on BBC One from 19:00 GMT, include Maya Jama, David Tennant and Davina McCall. They will be joined by Romesh Ranganathan, Joel Dommett, Rosie Ramsey and Paddy McGuinness.
Friday’s highlights will include a spoof movie adaptation of The Traitors, in which Vigil and Gentleman Jack star Suranne Jones will play host Claudia Winkleman. Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey will star as winner Harry, with David Walliams playing fellow contestant Paul and Asim Chaudhry as Jaz. Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge, darts sensation Luke Littler, financial expert Martin Lewis, pop group McFly and the Gladiators will also put in appearances during the three-hour show.
The cast of BBC mockumentary W1A will return in a sketch to attempt to choose Sir Lenny’s replacement. And the result will be revealed of a public vote run by The One Show to choose the comedy legend’s greatest ever Red Nose Day moment. Comic Relief has raised more than £1.5bn over the years, with the money helping to tackle poverty, provide food, healthcare and safe shelter for people in the UK and around the world.
Sir Lenny will remain involved in the future as life president of Comic Relief. “I think I’ll be incredibly proud because it’s been a large part of my life and to see a new generation of people taking it forwards – we’ve got Maya Jama, David Tennant, Romesh Ranganathan – there’s such a huge amount of people coming up. “It’ll be fantastic to leave knowing that there’s – I’m getting emotional now – a new group of people taking over and treating it the way we did.
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