Around £20.3m has been raised by the BBC's annual Children In Need telethon, which took place on Friday night. A whole host of TV, stage and music stars appeared on the seven-hour spectacular, which was hosted by Terry Wogan, Tess Daly and Alesha Dixon. Among those performing in the studio were Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity, who teamed up with the BBC newsreaders for a 'dance-off'. Presenter Kate Silverton said that she and colleagues Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth and Susanna Reid were "out of our comfort zone" after they kicked off the routine with a medley of Beyonce songs. The video for this year's Children In Need single, by the Animated All Star Band, also made its debut. The clip features an animated Peter Kay and over 100 characters from children's TV past and present, including The Wombles, Bagpuss, Postman Pat, Bob The Builder, Peppa Pig and In The Night Garden. And the soap stars also did their bit, with the EastEnders cast performing a Motown medley in the middle of Albert Square, while Hollyoaks actors performed a tribute to Queen and memers of the cast of The Bill sang Mack The Knife. Wogan, meanwhile, donned period costume to take part in a special edition of Lark Rise To Candleford. Other highlights included a sneak preview of the Doctor Who Christmas special, a Dragon's Den special featuring the team renovating a community centre in South London, and performances in the studio from the likes of JLS and Peter Andre. The final total at the end of the night fell just short of last year's final figure. "Another fantastic fundraising effort - we didn't get quite to £21m but we got pretty close," Wogan said. "By the time we give you the full total in a couple of months' time, I bet it's got to be pretty close to what we made last year."
