David Walliams to host 24-hour panel show for Comic Relief

Tuesday 15th February 2011 @ 5pm

David Walliams' Awfully Good. David Walliams. Image credit: Crook Productions. David Walliams has signed up to anchor the UK's first ever 24-hour panel show - which will be broadcast live on the internet, with highlights then broadcast on both BBC Three and BBC One.

24 Hour Panel People, which has been commissioned as part of the BBC's Comic Relief coverage, will feature a "huge team" of comedians taking part in the show, acting as hosts, team captains and panellists for a period, before another batch of guests arrive to take part in the show.

The BBC says: "It is set to be an incredible one-off occasion that will require David to be at his comedic best for 24 hours as throughout the day he switches between the roles of host, team captain and panellist, along with some other surprising challenges as well. Joining him are some of the nation's top comedians celebrating some of the most famous and best loved panel shows from TV and radio, including Have I Got News For You, Celebrity Juice, They Think It's All Over, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Just A Minute and many more."

The list of guest has yet to be announced, but it is known that 8 Out Of 10 Cats will supply Sean Lock and Jason Manford, and that Celebrity Juice host Leigh Francis will take part in one of the sections in character as Keith Lemon.

The show will be streamed live on bbc.co.uk/rednoseday on the weekend of 5 and 6 March and will then be edited down to 5 x 30-minute shows for BBC Three to air in the run-up to Comic Relief night on Friday 18th March. Highlights will also be shown during the Red Nose Day broadcast on BBC One.

David Walliams says: "This is an amazing challenge. I just hope I don't fall asleep or burst into tears."

Karl Warner, Executive Editor Entertainment Commissioning, said: "We're thrilled to be supporting Comic Relief again on BBC Three and we're massively grateful to all the comedians taking part in this fantastic event, particularly David who is leading the way through this 24-hour panel show marathon."

Suzi Aplin, Executive Producer of Red Nose Day, said: "This is another new and totally fantastic way of raising money and we couldn't be more grateful to David and all the spectacular comics who will be joining him in this incredibly exciting event."

David Walliams is a regular supporter of the Comic Relief charity. He has previously famously swam the Channel, the Gibraltar Strait and led a team of celebrity cyclists on a non-stop Land's End to John O'Groats relay for Sport Relief.