BBC Big Night In: All the talking points, from Little Britain’s controversial comeback to Prince William’s comedy sketch
Lenny Henry, Catherine Tate and many more famous faces starred in the fundraiser
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Your support makes all the difference.As the BBC's live entertainment offering for lockdown, The Big Night In, drew to a close on Thursday night, it had already raised an incredible £27m for charity.
The event saw Comic Relief and Children in Need team up for an evening starring many famous faces, from Lenny Henry and Catherine Tate to Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
Check out the biggest talking points, below...
Prince William tried his hand at comedy
Just when you thought lockdown couldn’t get any weirder, the future King of England Zoomed Stephen Fry, cracking jokes about not wearing any trousers and why he didn’t watch Tiger King. It’s because he “tends to avoid shows about royalty”, by the way. Fry, who has more of a knack for comedy, was portraying his Blackadder character Lord Melchett – the personal advisor to Queen Elizabeth I.
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon served up a lockdown special of The Trip
This was one of the highlights of the night, and it felt pretty effortless. The pair just chatted away, whining about being roped into another Comic Relief gig: "It would be a relief if Richard Curtis stopped calling." And instead of opting for the obligatory bookshelf backdrops we so often see on Zoom, Brydon’s shelves were stacked with family photographs. Coogan's were filled with his awards, of course.
Peter Kay and Dawn French reminded us of the power of nostalgia
In an evening that still felt melancholy despite the large amount of laughs, two particular moments of comedy served as healthy respites: Peter Kay, himself a veritable man of mystery nowadays, expressing gratitude for the response to his 2005 charity rendition of Tony Christie’s “Amarillo”. Seeing such mid-Noughties joy all over again was so heartwarming that you managed to forget most of those involved in it are now dead. French’s Vicar of Dibley return was similarly moving. In the same vein, such a warm hug of a throwback almost managed to block out the fact that half the show’s cast is dead now, too.
Little Britain… didn’t
Matt Lucas and David Walliams deserve kudos for their improvised reunion (the toilet paper holders for wigs was a great shout) – but yeesh was this a reminder of how terribly Little Britain has aged. The wacky accents, racist innuendos and class stereotypes were guiltily funny back in the show’s heyday, when we were all a little bit more ignorant, but it felt beamed from an entirely different universe in 2020.
Even the most talented of pop stars can’t survive an echo-y living room
While it’s slightly mean to criticise the litany of pop stars participating in a good cause, few of the night’s live singers could escape the horror of an echo-y living room. Everyone from Nicole Scherzinger to Jess Glynne and Celeste to Sam Smith struggled valiantly to combat the limitations of their improvised surroundings, to miserable returns. For anyone hoping that house-bound concerts could replace the real thing, either during or after this pandemic, The Big Night In reminded us all that they can’t.
The live blog is now closed.
Find out everything you need to know about The Big Night In here, including how to donate to the fundraiser to support vulnerable people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK who will be significantly impacted by the crisis.
Peter Kay wins the award for best shirt of the night, in a very rare appearance to introduce his new Amarillo video, with nurses, care workers, retail workers and others marching beside him via video link
If only we could all start each day of lockdown with a Zoom call from Chabuddy G
Here's that clip of Peter Kay on telly for the first time in two years...
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's sketch was my favourite bit of the night, Steve with his Bafta strategically placed just behind him. They were bemoaning being roped into another comic relief gig. "It would be a relief if Richard Curtis stopped calling." Coogan’s Mick Jagger impression was as brilliant as ever, and I enjoyed/related to Brydon pointing out the fact that each week the Clap for our Carers becomes more and more of a competition between neighbours. Which can only be a good thing.
Matt Lucas and David Walliams performed a medley of their Little Britain sketches for the first time in 10 years. Shame, the night was going so well before this segment, which included jokes about Andy (the character who pretends to have a disability) wanting to eat a bat. They also did the controversial "I'm a lady" gag and Lucas half-heartedly said: "I'm not sure we should be doing this sketch anymore." Oh dear.
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