Children in Need

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A version of the appeal's logo, including its iconic "Pudsey bear" character
You may be looking for the Tenth Doctor mini-episode.

Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Donations are usually collected during telethons in November. The BBC often commissions special episodes or other productions to air during this time.

Doctor Who has had a long association with Children in Need, and has produced no less than five original productions (four storyline-related, one concert) aired as part of the annual appeal.

The first and most extravagant of these was the ninety-minute special episode The Five Doctors. It aired in November 1983 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the series, which also coincided with that year's Children in Need Appeal.

In 1993, a two-part "mini-story", Dimensions in Time, was broadcast. It was introduced by a short skit with Jon Pertwee, in character as the Third Doctor, and Noel Edmonds. Dimensions in Time was a crossover with another popular series, EastEnders. It was originally broadcast in 3-D but could be seen without special 3-D glasses. All surviving Doctors (including Tom Baker) and many of the surviving companions appeared in this pastiche written by John Nathan-Turner, which asked viewers to choose which EastEnders character would "save the day" in the second episode. The special, produced to mark the programme's thirtieth anniversary in lieu of the cancelled The Dark Dimension, was not well received by some fans.

In 1998, the charity story Future Generations was released, featuring a large crossover of several series aired on the BBC, including Doctor Who. This was followed by an episode of Live & Kicking.

Five years later in 2003, when Doctor Who was announced to return, Children in Need featured a special Children in Need 2003 written by Nev Fountain, starring Jon Culshaw, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, with John Leeson reprising the voice of K9 and Culshaw's Dead Ringers co-star Jan Ravens portraying Anne Robinson alongside a Sontaran, a Cyberman and a Sea Devil. The prize was the chance to appear in the forthcoming revived series. After the first and only round, the Doctor (which one is unknown although the camera angle and lighting seemed aimed at Baker) was the strongest link and all of the monsters were described as the weakest link. During the vote off, the Fourth Doctor voted for one of 'his' fellow incarnations (which one is also unknown) and had a dispute with K9 over voting for him, thanks to the assistance of the Sixth Doctor writing for him, but ultimately the Sontaran was voted off. At the end of the sketch, the Seventh Doctor tried to appeal for the Sontaran to not get voted off, but to no avail as Robinson decided that none of the contestants (even the Doctors) were worthy of a place in the returning show.

Since the revival of the series in 2005, Doctor Who has several times presented mini-episodes for Children in Need. The first, known variously as the Pudsey Cutaway, Born Again, or simply Born Again, aired in November 2005 and served to introduce audiences to David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, providing a link between the end of The Parting of the Ways and The Christmas Invasion.

For 2006, the series presented a special televised concert of music from the series (which was later condensed into a special episode of Doctor Who Confidential.

In 2007, another mini-episode was produced to link Last of the Time Lords and Voyage of the Damned: Time Crash. It was a milestone production for the series revival. It featured the return of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, making it the first multi-Doctor story of the revived series.

For the 2008 appeal, there was insufficient time for the production team to prepare an original production (according to Russell T Davies writing in Doctor Who Magazine), although there were subsequent media rumours of a potential reunion of the surviving Doctors. Ultimately, the show's contribution consisted of the pre-credits teaser from the upcoming Christmas special, The Next Doctor.

In early 2009, Davies, writing again in DWM, hinted about the possibility of a further mini-episode being produced for the 2009 appeal. Ultimately, this did not occur; instead, a "specially packaged" preview clip from TV: The End of Time was announced for broadcast during the 20 November appeal.

For 2010, a preview of the Christmas Special A Christmas Carol was shown.

The 2011 event saw an original mini-episode, The Naked Truth, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and written by Steven Moffat broadcast alongside a preview for the Christmas special The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

In 2012, both a prequel and trailer for the forthcoming Christmas Special were shown. The prequel was entitled The Great Detective, and both were introduced by Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman.

In 2013, a preview of The Day of the Doctor was shown.

In 2014, a preview of Last Christmas was shown.

In 2015, a preview of The Husbands of River Song was shown.

In 2016, a preview of The Return of Doctor Mysterio was shown, as well as Looking for Pudsey, which features the Twelfth Doctor.

In 2017, a preview of Twice Upon a Time was shown.

In 2018, Anna's Doctor Who Surprise was released, along with a preview of Kerblam!.

In 2023, Destination: Skaro [+]Loading...["Destination: Skaro (TV story)"] was released.

Timeline[[edit] | [edit source]]

Note: The Doctor Who group, Hyde Fundrasiers, raised money for Children in Need and other charities throughout the year[which?].

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/children-in-need-2011-christmas-preview-27742.htm
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