The BBC Children in Need Appeal is the most important single event in the BBC calendar and the only occasion when the whole of the BBC joins together in support of a single project on TV, radio and online.
The BBC's first broadcast appeal for children took place in 1927, in the form of a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day. It raised about £1,143 which equates to about £27,150 by today's standards.
The first televised appeal took place in 1955 and was called the Children's Hour Christmas Appeal, with Sooty and Harry Corbett fronting it. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, with stars such as Terry Hall, Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther and Michael Aspel. During that time a total of £625,836 was raised. Terry Wogan first appeared during this five-minute appeal in 1978 and again in 1979.