After nearly four decades as part of the annual charity telecast, British TV legend and comedian Sir Lenny Henry has revealed he will be stepping down as the host of Comic Relief.
Lenny Henry is a household name across the UK and has been the lead host of Comic Relief ever since he co-founded the treasured non-profit organisation with fellow comedy writer Richard Curtis back in 1985, but has now confirmed this year’s broadcast will be his last.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning, the 63-year-old confirmed that 2024’s Red Nose Day programme due to air on Friday, 15 March will be his final outing, insisting that it’s now “time to hand on to the new generation” and for “new faces” to champion the annual campaign.
Sir Lenny co-hosted the inaugural Comic Relief show back in 1988, raising £15m in just eight hours of TV comedy. Since then donations have surpassed £1.5bn, with money raised each year helping to tackle poverty, providing food, healthcare and safe shelter for people in the UK and globally. Amazing.
Speaking in a statement, Henry said of Comic Relief’s journey: “I thought we’d probably do three shows and that would be it, but fast-forward nearly 40 years, and that enthusiasm and determination to step up and help others has never wavered.
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“As life president of Comic Relief, I’m excited to see some new and familiar faces come forward now to present the big night and lead us into the next chapter.”
He went on to say, “There’s all these new, wonderful comedians with podcasts and nine million followers, and those guys or women should be hosting Comic Relief now so that the young people and the new influx of viewers can plug into the next stage… because there will be a next stage, and because we want to continue tackling issues of poverty and injustice.
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Well said, and as Red Nose Day and Comic Relief continue to generate more and more vital funds year after year, it’s clear that the national love for this televised fundraiser hasn’t gone anywhere.
Here’s Lenny Henry’s much-loved sketch and penultimate turn as Comic Relief host from last year.
Noting that he’s only ever had “one night off” since the first-ever telecast, he’s been at the heart and soul of the event and the campaigning surrounding Red Nose Day itself from the beginning.
As well as the last 12 months of fundraising, this year’s events will include a comedy night at the London Palladium on 26 February ahead of the annual TV broadcast.
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Aisling Bea, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Joel Dommett, Mawaan Rizwan, Rosie Jones and Sara Pascoe are all set to appear alongside Sir Lenny as he bows after 39 wonderful years.
A truly incredible legacy that he should be immensely proud of. Thanks for everything, Lenny.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
News
UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Danny Jones -
31st January 2024 
