Comic Relief 2023 to return with star-studded performer line-up

Comedy sketches, musical performances, and a special message from the Prince of Wales will form part of Comic Relief on Friday evening.

Comic Relief will return on Friday night, with the annual charity fundraiser featuring a star-studded line of presenters and performers.

Comedy sketches featuring Dame Mary Berry, Danny Dyer and Graham Norton, as well as a special message from the Prince of Wales will form part of the show.

Pop vocalists Tom Grennan and Zara Larsson will also deliver musical performances of their new singles during the broadcast from Salford.

The 2023 programme will see AJ Odudu joined by David Tennant, Joel Dommett, Paddy McGuinness and Zoe Ball as presenters on BBC One.

Among the previously announced sketches will be a parody of popular BBC show The Traitors, in which Dame Mary and Dyer will star.

The pair will be joined by comedians Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Merchant, Rosie Jones and contestants Maddy and Wilf from series one as they gather for a roundtable discussion.

In a twist, the show’s host Claudia Winkleman will be played by Dawn French before the true traitor is revealed to viewers.

Other celebrity cameos include pop superstar Kylie Minogue, who will appear in a sketch with the cast of BBC sitcom Ghosts.

Sir Tony Robinson is also due to reprise his famous role as dimwitted Blackadder sidekick Baldrick, to read a bedtime story

Meanwhile, Dermot O’Leary will team up with Jamie Demetriou’s Stath Charalambos from Stath Lets Flats for a sketch.

Norton, along with Lulu and Sam Ryder, are set to join a mock judging panel, where they will take auditions from a variety of famous faces in search of the UK’s next Eurovision entrant.

The sketch will feature auditions, of varying quality, from the likes of actor Jamie Dornan, Spandau Ballet star Tony Hadley, and comedian Miranda Hart.

As part of Comic Relief, two tickets to the sold-out Eurovision Song Contest grand final will be given away as part of a prize draw.

One winner will also enjoy a meet-and-greet with Eurovision presenters Rylan and Scott Mills alongside their tickets, as well as travel expenses and a one-night stay at a top hotel in the host city of Liverpool.

All proceeds from the draw will be donated to Comic Relief.

Elsewhere, Grennan will sing his single You Are Not Alone, while Swedish singer Larsson will be performing her new track Can’t Tame Her.

The cast of Mrs Doubtfire The Musical will also deliver their first UK performance of Make Me A Woman from the new stage show.

The Prince of Wales will make an appearance during Friday’s broadcast, as part of a video appeal, in which he meets people receiving help from charities supported by Comic Relief.

For the film, William visited homelessness organisation Groundswell.

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

This year the fundraiser will support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems and food poverty.

Comic Relief 2023 will air live from Salford’s MediaCity on BBC One on March 17 at 7pm.