Praise for Sir Lenny Henry after opening night stumble

Sir ]p]Lenny Henry]'s performance in a revival of Educating Rita has been praised after a shaky start which saw him fluff his lines.

Barren Knights: Why comedians rarely receive honours

With his inclusion on the Birthday Honours, Lenny Henry joins an elite list of comedians to receive a knighthood. We look back at five funnymen who achieved the rank.

Lenny Henry 'chuffed' at knighthood

Lenny Henry is to become Sir Lenny after confirming that he will receive a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours.

Lenny Henry knighted for services to comedy & charity

Comedian and actor Lenny Henry is to be knighted for services to charity and comedy.

Lenny Henry: I wouldn't let my children go on X Factor

The comedian has attacked reality TV shows for being 'well dodgy' and exploiting children's dreams.

Lenny Henry: Only one way to smash the glass ceiling

That change was to ring-fence money for BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) productions.

Lenny Henry hints he won't leave fortune to daughter

He may be one of Britain's wealthiest comedians but Lenny Henry has suggested he won't be leaving his multi-million pound fortune to his daughter, fearing a large inheritance would spoil her.

Lenny Henry: 'I'm desperate to be in Game of Thrones'

Lenny Henry has revealed he is "desperate" to be in Game Of Thrones.

Comedy Greats appear on Royal Mail stamps

Spike Milligan, The Two Ronnies, Billy Connolly, Morecambe & Wise, Norman Wisdom, Lenny Henry, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Monty Python, French & Saunders and Victoria Wood feature on ten special Royal Mail stamps.

One project that has mixed humour with serious subject matter for the last thirty years is Comic Relief which aired it's bi-annual Red Nose Day last Friday. As well as the climax of both The Bake-Off and The People's Strictly; Red Nose Day saw the return of many comedy icons. The sketch that the team seemed to be most proud of was the Little Britain clip in which David Walliams' Lou was now the carer for Professor Steven Hawking. However I wasn't a particular fan and by the clip's third airing I'd grown tired of seeing Hawking become a transformer and finish off both Lou and Catherine Tate's Irish nun. The more successful returns came courtesy of Mr. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley with the latter presenting a cameo-laden sketch in which Geraldine meets her rivals for the position of the first female bishop. There were two sketches that I particularly enjoyed the first of which featured a host of famous faces vying to become Britain's newest national treasure. Featuring everyone from Salman Rushdie to The Chuckle Brothers; this sketch was amusing throughout and had a great pay-off. Similarly I felt that Comic Relief's take on Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen skit was inspired with a quartet of the organisation's famous fundraisers competing to see who had the most gruelling experience. There were other little moments that made me chuckle most notably when voiceover man Matt Berry came onto to stage to argue with host Claudia Winkleman. However, Comic Relief isn't really about the sketches or the laughter but rather the money that's raised at the end of the night. The final scene, in which Lenny Henry revealed that the organisation has raised more than a billion pounds over the past thirty years, was one of the most heartwarming TV moments I've seen all year. Henry's pride in what Comic Relief has done over the years was brilliant to see and it just proves what the British public can achieve when they put their minds to something.