When is Red Nose Day 2019 on TV? How to watch Comic Relief telethon on BBC tonight

Red Nose Day returns with Four Weddings revival, Alan Partridge, a Mamma Mia spoof and a special instalment of Bodyguard

Comic Relief returns to BBC One on Friday 15 March.

The annual charity fundraiser, broadcast live from Elstree Studios, will be hosted by Sir Lenny Henry and will once more see the Beeb wheel out its big guns for a good cause.

Here’s what to look forward to ahead of this year’s annual comedy and musical spectacular.

Bodyguard

The BBC’s stand-out hit of 2018 returns to the small screen and David Budd has a new assignment.

Golden Globe winner Richard Madden will be joined by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Gina McKee, Vincent Franklin and more special guests in a one-off thriller for Red Nose Day.

Mamma Mia Here We Go Yet Again!

Ten years ago, Comic Relief brilliantly parodied the hit Abba film musical Mamma Mia with a spoof written by Jennifer Saunders, starring herself and Life on Mars star Philip Glenister.

With a sequel film repeating the trick in cinemas last summer, Saunders has written a follow-up and Glenister, Alan Carr, Miranda Hart and Sue Perkins all return for this second assault on the music of the Swedish disco titans.

Joining them will be an all-star supporting cast including Carey Mulligan, Gemma Arterton, Susan Calman, Tom Hollander, Rose Johnson, Lucy Montgomery and Joe Thomas.

Alan Partridge

Recently making a triumphant return to the corporation he left in infamy in the early Nineties, North Norfolk Digital DJ and tan string-back driving-glove enthusiast Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) will bring his experience to the fore alongside the redoubtable Sidekick Simon (Tim Key).

The dynamic duo hope to tug the heartstrings with a thought-provoking docu-feature about their efforts to raise money for Comic Relief on the mean streets of Norfolk.

One Red Nose Day and a Wedding

In what must surely be the most-anticipated events of the evening, the cast of Richard Curtis’s beloved 1994 romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral reunite for a one-off special 25 years later.

Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, John Hannah, Rowan Atkinson, James Fleet, David Haig, Sophie Thompson, David Bower, Robin McCaffrey, Anna Chancellor, Rupert Vansittart, Simon Kunz, Sara Crowe and Timothy Walker will all be there.

“Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed...”

Freddie’s Top Gear Wind Up

If that’s not quite your cup of tea, this might be more like it.

Ex-cricketer Freddie Flintoff takes outspoken football pundit Robbie Savage for a few laps around the famous Top Gear track, with a spectacular twist promised.

Luisa Omielan, Judge Robert Rinder, Martin Freeman and Kerry Godliman on Comic Relief Does University Challenge (Ben Blackall/BBC)

Daves: The Official Calendar

Comedian and author David Walliams rounds up a selection of celebrities named Dave to populate the pages of a charity calendar.

Comic Relief Does University Challenge

Another famous Dave, David Baddiel, takes the umpire's chair from Jeremy Paxman for this spin on the perennially-popular student quiz.

Actor Martin Freeman and stand-up Jason Manford are the team captains, joined by Emily Atack, Kerry Godliman, Judge Rinder, Vick Hope, Luisa Omielan and Darren Harriott.

Other headline events on what promises to be a busy night include live performances from the West End shows Only Fools and Horses: The Musical and Magic Mike Live, sketches by the casts of Mischief Theatre and BBC Three's Famalam and musical performances from a string of mystery guest stars.