BBC Children In Need has raised more than £39m following its annual fundraising show.

The appeal show featured appearances from stars including Oscar winner Gary Oldman, pop group Girls Aloud, chat show host Graham Norton, singer Kylie Minogue and Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa, as well as the cast of Outnumbered, Gladiators and Strictly Come Dancing pros.

Ella Henderson and Rag’n’Bone Man were among those providing musical entertainment during the live show from MediaCityUK in Salford.

At the end of the show, co-host Vernon Kay thanked viewers for their generosity when he announced that a total of £39,210,850 had been raised so far.

TV presenter and radio host Paddy McGuinness raised £8,856,580 after his BBC Radio 2 ultra-endurance cycling challenge, which saw him travel across three nations and eight counties to complete a 300-mile cycle ride.

Meanwhile, Children In Need’s 2024 charity single was played for the first time during the live show, which features a new version of the Girls Aloud song Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) featuring the late Sarah Harding on lead vocals.

The song was originally released in 2004 as a Children In Need single and topped the UK charts for two weeks.

The 2024 version features Harding’s solo recording, with unseen stock footage used in the video. The singer died in 2021 at the age of 39.

The Children In Need show also saw Rag’n’Bone Man perform an acoustic version of his song Put A Little Hurt On Me.

Introducing the singer on stage, presenter Kay told the crowd: “He was so keen – this is a true story – he was so keen to be part of tonight’s Children In Need, he left his honeymoon early. What a bloke.”

The Rag’n’Bone Man reportedly married Zoe Beardsall in West Sussex over the weekend.

The charity night, alongside The Saturdays star Rochelle Humes, Paralympian Ade Adepitan, TV presenter Mel Giedroyc, comedian and podcaster Chris Ramsey and Bafta TV award-winning actor Lenny Rush, also included a sneak peek of the Doctor Who Christmas special.

In the clip, 15th Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, in the festive episode titled Joy To The World, were seen facing off against a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Meanwhile, pop star Minogue, who appeared in the Doctor Who 2007 Christmas special as Astrid Peth, asked Doctor Who fans to “bid a piece of that history” in a pre-recorded video.

Her waitress costume from the episode Voyage Of The Damned is up for auction, along with Jodie Whittaker’s Tardis used on the set of the 2022 episode Eve Of The Daleks.

The Strictly Come Dancing pro was also joined by animated TV dog Bluey to perform a playful dance with moves such as mashed potatoes, alligator and floss in a pre-recorded episode aired on the show.

Among the stars who joined the dance from home were comedians Josh Widdicombe, Miranda Hart and Frank Skinner, along with Bez from Happy Mondays, House of Commons star Jane McDonald and Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Meanwhile, Hollywood star Oldman read a special CBeebies Bedtime Story written especially for Children In Need, based on a true story.

After eight years, the cast of Outnumbered also reunited in a skit to promote the donation number for Children In Need, ahead of their BBC Christmas special.

The live show also featured famous faces including JLS star Aston Merrygold, Strictly’s Nikita Kuzmin and Olympian Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill taking up Norton’s famous red chair, as they tried to get a group of children laughing.

While stars from BBC’s Gladiators attended a dance class alongside unexpected new recruits – the presenter’s Ramsey, Rush and Kay.

Pop star Henderson also sang a duet of her song Brave with a teenager who has been a hospice ambassador since her father’s death.

Children In Need funds family centres, community spaces, youth clubs and refuges, homeless shelters, hospices and helplines across the UK.