Who might change Lenny Henry as host of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day

Sir Lenny Henry has revealed he has determined to step down from presenting Red Nose Day after 39-years.

The comedian, 65, has confirmed that subsequent Friday’s present will likely be his final after admitting that he missed being on stage along with his former Comic Relief co-hosts – together with ex-wife Dawn French, Billy Connolly and the late Victoria Wood.

He co-founded the charity alongside Richard Curtis in 1985 and started fronting the enduring telethon, which on the time he thought would solely final for 3 exhibits, not to mention nearly 40. 

Although, viewers can nonetheless take consolation in that whereas he is not going to be on display screen throughout the large night time Sir Lenny will proceed working for the charity behind the scenes because it’s Life President. 

Speaking about his departure from the lime lite, Lenny stated: ‘As Life President of Comic Relief, I’m excited to see some new and acquainted faces come ahead now to current the massive night time and lead us into the following chapter.’

Lenny admitted that the Comic Relief baton must be ‘handed on to a brand new group of people who find themselves going to tackle Comic Relief’ and alluded to numerous stars who might take over. 

Here MailOnline lists a few of these runners and riders which can be tipped to fill his sneakers within the iconic presenting slot.

David Tennant 

Henry is believed to have given a slight nod that David Tennant will take over as his substitute after saying the previous Doctor Who star was ‘sensible’ when he hosted the present in 2019 and 2023. 

A humorous clip from final yr’s Red Nose Day additionally confirmed Henry regenerating into the Scottish actor, 52, earlier than heading on stage to greet the viewers. 

Tennant has been a part of the presenting line up for the telethon since as early as 2009, throughout which he hosted a section of the present with Davina McCall. 

The Broadchurch actor additionally took half within the occasion in 2013 and once more in 2019, after which he has remained a everlasting characteristic. 

Tennant hosted the present final yr together with veteran presenters  Zoe Ball and Paddy McGuinness in addition to newcomers AJ Odudu and Joel Dommett.

Romesh Ranganathan

Romesh Raganathan made his Comic Relief debut properly over half a decade in the past and is due to this fact a detailed contender to take over Henry’s position. 

He first hosted on the telethon in 2017 throughout which he appeared in a barely odd Indian dance sequence, which the comic appeared to take offense to.

In 2019, he appeared alongside former Britain’s Got Talent choose Alesha Dixon after they each boogied on stage to choose up the presenting duties alongside a star-studded solid. 

He can be set to seem on this yr’s present on March 15, with different seasoned Red Nose Day presenters and Maya Jama and Rosie Ramsey who will make making their Red Nose Day debut. 

Alesha Dixon

Although she has been a mainstay of British Television for properly over a decade, Alesha Dixon has solely introduced on Comic Relief on three events. 

The former Britain’s Got Talent choose made her Comic Relief debut in 2019 when she introduced a section of the present with comic Romesh Ranganathan. 

The pair had a comedic presence on stage and at one level Dixon joked that she was anxious about announcing Romesh’s identify flawed to which he replied: ‘There is an actual hazard of trying racist.’

And in 2021, Dixon appeared on the present alongside David Tennant, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness and Sir Lenny Henry.

AJ Odudu

AJ Odudu is a relative newcomer to the Red Nose Day line up, having solely featured within the present since 2022. 

On her first present she appeared alongside Vernon Kay earlier than she was later joined by George Ezra who carried out a rendition of his music Anyone for You.

She was set to co-present the section with Comedian Joel Dommett, however he was pressured to drag out after testing optimistic for Covid-19. 

AJ has shot to fame in years after showing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, which she stated was a dream come true, and has is ready to host the upcoming collection of Celebrity Big Brother after presenting the present’s revival final yr. 

The reinvention of Sir Lenny Henry: How comic went from ‘political soccer’ to variety champion 

 By Tom Cotterill

After nearly 40 years internet hosting Comic Relief, Sir Lenny Henry is lastly stepping again from the fundraising juggernaut.

The beloved British comedian has declared it is time for a ‘new era’ to take the reins of the annual bonanza, which has raised a staggering £1.5billion because it first aired in 1988.

Before changing into the face of Red Nose Day, Sir Lenny was famed for his edgy stand-up routines and outrageous characters that might poke enjoyable at his Jamaican roots.

But lately the Dudley-born humorous man, 65, has shifted gear, shying away from his risqué gags of previous – which he stated could be ‘resigned to the bin’ now – to marketing campaign for racial justice and black rights.

Reinventing himself as a variety champion, Sir Lenny claimed he was as soon as used as a ‘political soccer’ when he appeared in ‘black face’ on the Black And White Minstrels present as a young person within the 1975. He has even referred to as out the BBC over alleged racism on the establishment.

The comedian was amongst main black broadcasters and celebrities to slam the company after it rebuked Naga Munchetty for criticising Donald Trump again in 2019.

The BBC Breakfast host was discussing controversial feedback made by former US President about 4 non-white Democratic congresswomen that sparked a race row.

In an on-air chat, she advised her co-presenter Dan Walker: ‘Every time I’ve been advised, as a girl of color, to return to the place I got here from, that was embedded in racism,’ including: ‘I’m not accusing anybody of something right here, however you realize what sure phrases imply.’

Questioned additional by Mr Walker, she stated she was ‘completely livid a person in that place thinks it is OK to skirt the traces by utilizing language like that’.

But the BBC deemed she had gone too far with the dialogue and reprimanded her – sparking a fierce backlash, led by Sir Lenny.

A letter signed by the comedian and dozens of different stars stated: ‘Racism isn’t a legitimate opinion on which an “impartial” stance can or needs to be maintained.

‘For communities and people who expertise racist abuse – together with Munchetty – being anticipated to deal with racist concepts as doubtlessly legitimate has devastating and possibly unlawful penalties for our dignity and talent to work in knowledgeable atmosphere, in addition to being opposite to race equality and human rights laws;

‘To counsel a journalist can ‘speak about her personal experiences of racism’ whereas withholding a critique on the creator of racism (on this case President Trump) has the ludicrous implication that such racism could also be reputable and needs to be contemplated as such.’

Impressionist Sir Lenny has beforehand described how he used the racism he confronted as a toddler to encourage lots of his early sketch characters within the Seventies and 80s. But he stated if he had began his profession now, it will ‘all have to alter’.

‘My accomplice would go ‘a lot of the 70s and 80s needs to be resigned to the bin, you possibly can’t do any of that s*** anymore’,’ he stated. ‘I’m very conscious that if I used to be beginning now, there’s a variety of stuff I would not do.’

He cited the instance of Donovan Bogarde, a personality from ‘Lenny Henry in Pieces’, which aired between 2000 and 2003.

With a thick West Indian accent, Bogarde was a lecherous pensioner who continually used sexual innuendos in conversations with Mrs Johnson, a girl he was pursuing.

He additionally stated he must flip his character Theophilus P Wildebeeste – an amorous soul singer who appeared on The Lenny Henry Show within the Eighties – ‘woke’ if creating him now.

The outrageous TV persona famously appeared throughout the 1991 installment of Comic Relief, Sir Lenny took to the stage as Wildebeeste alongside Welsh music icon Sir Tom Jones within the ‘Battle of the Sex Gods’.

The hilarious skit noticed the leather-clad duo sporting bulging, luminous purple cod items as they thrust and gyrated provocatively on stage whereas singing in entrance of hundreds of thousands of Brits.

But in 2022 Sir Lenny advised British GQ Magazine that Wildebeeste was one among his comedian creations that he now regretted.

‘I most likely would not do this now. He’d need to be woke. You know, ‘woman, I respect you’. You’d need to be like that. ‘I reserve the precise to respect you and be a proto-feminist myself’. I feel it will all have to alter. And that is a superb [thing].’

Sir Lenny was born to Jamaican dad and mom in Dudley – however his childhood within the ‘Black Country’ market city was removed from a laughing matter.

The comedian’s mom had moved to the West Midlands within the mid-Nineteen Fifties, following within the footsteps of her brother, Clifton, who had promised jobs for all of the household.

But in his unflinching autobiography, Sir Lenny stated his mom was ‘confronted by racism each day’.

In an extract from the ebook, shared with the Daily Mail in 2019, Sir Lenny wrote: ‘She could be adopted down the road by youngsters who needed to know the place she was hiding her tail; on the bus, girls would really feel her face with their fingers and ask her whether or not her pores and skin color got here off; males on the road would make monkey noises at her as she handed. 

‘That was when there have been indicators in all boarding home home windows saying, ‘No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs’. So when you had been a black Irish wolfhound, you had no probability, as my previous gag-writer Kim Fuller as soon as famous.’

A younger Lenny was additionally focused by bigots. He was picked on in school, with bullies taunting him by saying hateful issues like ‘Hey, darky. Oi nig-nog’, the comedian wrote.

But issues began to alter for Lenny when he found comedy, turning horrid feedback about him into jokes.

‘By the time I used to be 12 or 13, I’d had an epiphany. I knew I might make individuals chortle with the issues I stated, however now I used to be doing one thing else: I’d begun to impersonate voices, individuals, issues, on a regular basis,’ he stated.

His large break got here when he was nonetheless in class, as he appeared on hit expertise present New Faces – which kick-started his profession within the highlight.

After his audition he turned the primary black performer to participate in The Black and White Minstrel Show, which aired on the BBC from 1958 to 1978.

The leisure present was recognized for its use of white singers and actors donning blackface to carry out minstrel songs.

But Henry stated he was used as a ‘political soccer’ after showing on the programme.

In an interview with The Times, Sir Lenny, stated he regretted being persuaded by his household and administration to work on the present, which was thought-about offensive on the time, for 5 years.

‘People used to say Lenny was the one one who did not want make-up,’ the comic stated. ‘It was half humorous as soon as, however to listen to that every single day for 5 years was a little bit of a p***er.’

Henry added his inclusion was used as proof for the Race Relations Board that the present wasn’t racist.

‘I had turn into a political soccer,’ Sir Lenny stated. ‘My method via all of this was to bury my head within the sand and let any controversy wash over me.’

He has beforehand stated he was contractually obliged to carry out on the controversial present and that he struggled in a ‘profound wormhole of melancholy’ after it aired.

‘If you had been black and on TV within the Seventies, the jokes advised tended to be towards your self fairly than about some other topic. This was a survival approach… Rule primary gave the impression to be: get all of the dodgy racist jokes in earlier than they did,’ he added in his autobiography.

In October Sir Lenny admitted his jokes concerning the lack of black individuals on tv turned critical over time – prompting him to query why there have been so few within the trade.

The activist – who was the topic of an ITV particular, titled Lenny Henry: One Of A Kind, through which he’s celebrated by well-known pals together with Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Elton and Richard Curtis – stated the subject turned more and more extra necessary to him.

Reflecting on his early comedy routine within the programme, he says: ‘I had this entire nine-minute routine about black individuals on TV and why aren’t there extra of us.

‘That developed right into a thought course of. It stopped being about jokes and have become a factor that I did suppose.

‘Why is it after I go filming, there is no individuals of color behind the digital camera?

‘Why is it after I go into a gathering there’s by no means anyone that appears like me? The ‘why’ turned actually necessary.’

He added: ‘Quite usually, individuals from a working-class background or individuals of color go ‘Oh properly, that is not for me as a result of I do not see myself doing that’.

‘I swear if I’d met a black director of images after I was in school, I’d be a director of images now. Because these items encourage you to do these issues.’

In latest years, Sir Lenny has turned in the direction of combating for racial equality as a black rights campaigner.

He edited a ebook ‘Black British Lives Matter’ in 2021, a group of essays and conversations by outstanding black British figures on why black illustration was so necessary.

Sir Lenny Henry has revealed he will likely be stepping down as host of the Comic Relief after nearly 40 years.

He co-founded the charity in 1985 alongside Love Actually screenwriter Richard Curtis, has been internet hosting the BBC present Red Nose Day for many years.

Sir Lenny co-hosted the primary Comic Relief present in 1988, which raised £15million throughout an eight-hour TV occasion that includes a few of the prime stars of the day.

Since then, donations have surpassed greater than £1.5billion, with money raised annually serving to to sort out poverty, present meals, well being care and shelter for a few of the poorest individuals within the UK and all over the world.

Remarkably, the actor and comedian has solely taken one yr off from the position, which was whereas he was starring in a stage manufacturing of Othello.

But talking immediately, Sir Lenny stated it was ‘time at hand on to the brand new era’ and permit ‘new faces’ to take the helm.

He advised BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m not going to be internet hosting any extra Comic Reliefs after this.

‘I’ll make particular appearances as a result of I’m a life president. I’ll be doing fundraising stuff, however I simply will not be internet hosting on the night time.

‘I’ll most likely nonetheless do documentaries and bulletins and issues. But that is my final time of internet hosting the night.

‘I’ve solely ever had one night time off. That was after I did Othello at West Yorkshire Playhouse. But this would be the final time I host, as a result of I feel it is time to hand on to the brand new era.

‘There’s all these new, great comedians with podcasts and 9 million followers and people guys or girls needs to be internet hosting Comic Relief now.

‘So that the younger individuals and the brand new inflow of viewers can plug into the following stage of Comic Relief, as a result of there will likely be a subsequent stage, and since we wish to proceed tackling problems with poverty and injustice.

‘It’s time at hand over the reins, because it had been.’