Catherine Tate as Nan kicks off Red Nose Day as £11.5m raised so far

Catherine Tate has kicked off Red Nose Day as her character Nan alongside an army of grandmas for a performance of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.

It was revealed that £11,520,926 million has been raised so far for Red Nose Day.

The actress and comedian, 56, was dressed as her belligerent pensioner alter ego as she started the fundraising event, and joked that she is hosting to “give something back” to the BBC, as she has not bought a TV licence in 15 years.

Tate then burst into song, accompanied by dancers dressed as “Nan”, and introduced her fellow presenters Davina McCall and Joel Dommett.

The night of comedy includes sketches inspired by some of the biggest shows on the BBC, including The Traitors and Amandaland, as well as a parody of Emerald Fennell’s new Wuthering Heights film adaptation.

Tate joked about having an “OnlyNans” account as she bragged about being “all over the socials”, as McCall announced that the show is being livestreamed on the official BBC YouTube channel for the first time.

The star-studded charity show has also featured a parody of ITV’s The Masked Singer which is hosted by Dommett.

In the gag titled The Masked Finger, a giant finger was revealed to be social media star AngryGinge.

In one of the sketches, titled The Bank Job, Sir Idris Elba featured alongside a gang of celebrities including TV presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary along with comedian Chris McCausland as they attempted a heist to raise money for Comic Relief.

Other stars who appeared in the sketch include EastEnders actresses Natalie Cassidy and Shona McGarty, as well as TV presenter Stephen Mulhern and YouTuber Niko Omilana.

During the show comedians Nick Mohammed and Katherine Ryan will share the hosting duties.

A number of actors, comedians and celebrities will portray the recent series four cast of hit BBC reality gameshow The Traitors.

Titled The Traitors: The Movie – The Sequel, the sketch features Pushing Daisies actress Anna Friel who will play presenter Claudia Winkleman with series winners, Rachel and Stephen, played by reality TV star Vicky Pattison and comedian Iain Stirling respectively.

Withering Heights, a parody of the recently released Emerald Fennell film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, will also air during the appeal show.

A series of appeal films, including one fronted by Welsh actor Michael Sheen, will be played during the show, reminding viewers of the purpose of Red Nose Day and how donations help support people in the UK and beyond.

Comic Relief was co-founded by comedian Sir Lenny Henry and Love Actually screenwriter Richard Curtis in 1985.

Comic Relief: Funny For Money is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and for the first time it is also being livestreamed on the official BBC YouTube channel.