What time does Children In Need start? This year's Children In Need TV event begins at 19:00 GMT on Friday, with the live show coming from Salford and running for three hours. Viewers tuning in then will get the opening stretch of a broadcast that mixes fundraising, performances and challenges.
Owain Wyn Evans and Friday
Owain Wyn Evans gives the broadcast a practical lead-in. The Radio 2 presenter finished his 400-mile four-nation cycle ride on Friday in Cardiff and raised more than £3.8m along the way, a reminder of how quickly the charity work tied to the programme can move from effort to result.
Last year's appeal raised more than £45m to help children and young people across the UK, and this year's theme is Challenge Yourself 2026. The live show also carries the same basic structure: a scheduled start, a fixed runtime, and a fundraising drive built around performances, challenges and the wider Children In Need TV format.
Salford on Children In Need
Alex Jones will host the live show from Salford, where the opening hour matters most for anyone following the night as it happens. That is when the programme settles into its mix of charity appeals and on-air features, including a challenge squad of young people taking part for the cause.
The broadcast is not only a fundraising appeal. Timothée Chalamet and his Dune co-stars will prank Rylan Clark during this year's Children In Need on Friday, while Michelle Ackerley and Gethin Jones have learned instruments for the event. Serena, 22, will also perform live in memory of her late brother and a childhood friend.
Children In Need TV start
Harri, 22, is living with hidden lasting effects of a brain tumour, while Zoe, 16, has Down's syndrome and Ana, 16, has a rare physical condition. Their stories sit alongside the wider appeal to more than 1,600 local charities and projects across the UK, which is why the 19:00 GMT start gives viewers a fixed point to catch the live broadcast from the first minute.
