This year’s Children in Need appeal generated £37.1m during its live television show on Friday 13 November, breaking the record for the most money raised.
The figure is £4.5m more than was raised during last year’s celebrity-packed appeal - and £6m more than was raised in 2013.
A spokeswoman for the charity confirmed it was the “highest on-the-night total to date”.
“This year was our highest broadest appeal to date and fundraising from a wide range of initiatives helped the total amount raised increase - from fundraising across the UK, to programming across the entire BBC and corporate partner activity,” the spokeswoman told Civil Society News.
Friday’s funds were boosted by joint appeals with other BBC shows, including The One Show and Countryfile.
Radio 2’s Chris Evans breakfast show raised £5.7m, while The One Show’s 2015 Rickshaw Challenge raised £3.4m and Countryfile raised £1.6m.
Chief executive of BBC Children in Need, David Ramsden, said: “People of the UK should be feeling incredibly proud of what has been achieved. Their remarkable generosity will go on to help us change a lot of young lives.”
The appeal received criticism by some quarters on Friday for failing to mention the unfolding terrorist attacks in Paris for several hours.
The televised event - featuring celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Peter Andrew, Rod Stewart and Harry Hill – was broadcast from 7.30pm to 2am on Friday. But first mention of the attacks was made by Radio 1 presenter and X-Factor judge Nick Grimshaw just after midnight.
Children in Need criticised over Paris
Viewers took Twitter to criticise the BBC for failing to interrupt the charity fundraiser.
“Why has #CiN not broken in to announce the attacks in Paris? No banners. No comments. Nothing,” asked one viewer.
Another said: “Painful watching BBC1 and CiN carrying on as if the horror in Paris isn't happening. Not even a news info 'crawl' at bottom of screen.”
But other viewers sympathised with the broadcaster: “Children in Need made a recording breaking £37million last night, continuing to film despite the events in Paris. Love prevails,” tweeted micah_beckett04.
Presenter Graham Norton defended the BBC’s decision to continue broadcasting the charity appeal, saying BBC controllers has a “hideous” decision on their hands.
“It wasn’t like you couldn’t continue with the news because there are channels like News 24 and all those other channels,” he said. “I thought it was important that you did continue with CiN because nothing is to be gained from people in need in this country not getting the money.
“But it’s a terrible call, whoever had to make it – a hideous call to make,” he said.
Despite the nights controversy, the event drew more viewers that the previous year – at 8.8m, up from 8.3m in 2014.
A BBC spokeswoman defended its broadcasting decisions today.
“The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night presented a very fast moving news story which the BBC covered on the 10pm news on BBC One, followed by Newsnight on BBC Two and continuously on the BBC News Channel,” she said.
Reserves criticism
The charity was criticised by the Daily Mail last year over its £90m investment portfolio. The newspaper attacked it for hanging on to the charity money in its bank accounts and investment portfolios.
But a spokesman for Children in Need said its large reserves was part of a grantmaking strategy to release funds slowly over a period of three years.
“This money is not simply cash,” the spokesman said. “It has been allocated to projects working with disadvantaged children and young people throughout the UK.”
