Sport Relief has so far raised £56.9m, with a record £55m raised on the night of the television appeal.

The total of the live TV show, which took place on Friday night, beat the last total of £51m. The total will continue to rise as money raised from the British public filters in.

Comic Relief outgoing chief executive, Kevin Cahill, said: “We’d like to thank the British public for their outstanding generosity and compassion. Year on year we ask them to dig deep and do their bit and once again they’ve risen to the challenge. We can’t thank them enough. Their generous support will help us change lives both here in the UK and across the world.”

Highlights from this year’s fundraising campaign included comedian Eddie Izzard running 27 marathons in 27 days. Radio DJ Greg James raised more than £1m by completing a triathlon a day for five consecutive days, across five different UK cities.

This year’s live television appeal show included sketches featuring Idris Elba in Luther, and tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray.