When did "Children in Need" begin?

BBC's "Children in Need" first aired on the radio on Christmas Day in 1927. The program was a five-minute radio broadcast that appealed for many children in need throughout the listening area.

The first televised appeal was on Christmas Day in 1955, and it was called "Children's House Christmas Appeal." This television program was presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day appeals continued until 1979 with the Corbetts as the hosts. In 1980, Terry and Sue Lawley and Ester Rantzen took over the broadcast and changed its format to a telethon. Today, the show still runs as a telethon and is televised every November.