Children In Need

Radio 2 DJ Vernon Kay has spoken about meeting up with fellow Children in Need fundraisers has he spends more time looking back at his illustrious and eventful career

BBC Radio 2’s Vernon Kay fought back tears after opening up about a difficult time and admitted that the pain of his latest challenge was worth it for the amount of money they raised for Children in Need.

Children in Need is the BBC’s annual fundraising extravaganza and part of their fundraising efforts sometimes sees celebrities taking on gruelling physical challenges.

In 2023, Vernon Kay completed an ultra marathon, running 116 miles from Leicester to his home town of Bolton over four days. It comes after Vernon revealed a BBC legend brutally snubbed him over a stint on an ITV show.

Appearing on BBC Radio 2 at the end of his mammoth journey he told host Zoe Ball: “I’m absolutely exhausted, absolutely spent, physically, mentally. Is there anyone here who can replace a knee?”

Speaking about his work for Children in Need in 2026, Vernon talked about talking to fellow fundraisers Patrick McGuinness and Sarah Cox and how all three became emotional discussing what they’d done.

In 2025 Patrick completed a 300-mile cycling challenge for Children in Need whilst Sara Cox ran, jogged, and walked 135 miles over five days last year.

He told listeners: “I was with Patrick McGuinness and Sara Cox last night, yesterday afternoon, we were talking about Children In Need.

“Very emotional for all three of us I’ll be honest with you, every time each time one of us talked about what we’d done for children in need you could see us all welling up.

“But it’s not because of what we did but because of what you did, so once again thank you for that. The pain was worth it.”

This isn’t the first time Vernon has talked about important moments from his past as he recently looked back 29 years and shared a moment which he says changed his life.

The Bolton-born broadcaster said in a social media video discussing his modelling career and how it was getting scouted as a youngster that changed his life. His modelling work helped spark a career in broadcasting.

Following a stint as a magazine model Vernon, now 51, moved into presenting and went onto host shows such as T4, All Star Family Fortunes, and shows on BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.

Writing in a post on Instagram alongside a photo of himself, he said: “Dec96 Got scouted by @selectmodellondon @jameslnoel and it’s the day that changed my life! [heart emoji].

“Taking a look back at my modelling days….kind of a pivotal moment for me [crying laughing emojis]. This is the one picture people always throw at me but I don’t think it’s THAT bad. #BlueSteel.”

They’ve spent the last four summers in searing heat but next year they won’t be needing to pack a bikini or trunks

Amanda Holden and Alan Carr will return with a fifth series of their hit BBC1 property renovation show next year – but this time it will have a very different feel.

Because while the shows have so far been set under the hot Mediterranean sun in Italy, Spain and Greece – the next one is going to be a lot chillier. For the first time, the pair will be taking their lump hammers and hard hats and heading to Scandinavia.

Alan told the Mirror: “The producers are looking at Sweden or Norway for the next one. I think maybe it will be an eco-house up there. It will probably be an igloo or something, knowing them.” He said that moving the popular programme to a different landscape within a Nordic country was a very good idea. “I think there’s only so many times you can sort of look at a tile in the heat and go, ‘You need this…’” he laughed.

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“And actually, I’m never going to be like Handy Andy, but I do know how to use a drill now – so it just feels like I do need another challenge. It will be something very different. We’re excited. And it will be so nice to not be working in the searing heat.”

The series kicked off with The Italian Job, which filmed in the summer of 2022 in 40 degree temperatures. It was similarly sweaty in Tuscany the following year, and again in Andalusia for The Spanish Job in 2024. And there was no respite from the heat of high summer during filming on The Greek Job, currently entertaining 4million viewers every week, which was filmed in Corfu last summer.

But the temperature in the north of Norway during July can be just 10 degrees, and while further south it tends to be around 20 degrees – the same as the average Swedish temperature – the experience is guaranteed to be far fresher for them next time around.

In the show, which always airs on BBC1 from January, the pals don boiler suits and grab power tools to renovate and decorate a dilapidated property which is then sold off, with all profits going to the BBC charity Children in Need.

The new project is likely to focus on using natural and sustainable materials to create a well-insulated and energy efficient home which respects the local landscape. It may involve solar panels or a green moss roof, plus plenty of timber.

The Italian properties featured on the series each cost just 1Euro to buy, then sold for £125k and £185k respectively. The Spanish house also made a tidy profit, having been bought for £55k and sold for over £200k. “That’s good, because the money goes to charity as well, so it’s really positive,” Alan said. One reason that the filming location needs to stay within Europe – rather than moving further afield – is so that Amanda, 54, can travel back and forth to present her Heart Radio breakfast show.

Alan and Amanda were both delighted when the production team chose Corfu for the current run, because it is a regular holiday destination for Amanda and her family, and Alan, 49, has even joined them there.

But when they arrived on the idyllic Ionian island ahead of filming, they were horrified by what they found. “It’s a dump,” Alan lamented about the house, while Amanda agreed it was “definitely the worst” they had encountered. Nevertheless, they soon set about turning it into a dream family escape, with their efforts on display in the final two episodes from Friday.

The pair believe that the secret of their success is that “we muck in and we encourage each other”. Alan has told how, after four years, he’s even started to have fun while knocking down walls. “I have got much better,” he said of his skills earlier this month. “I was thinking, the latter end of The Greek Job, I was actually enjoying it, and I’ve never, ever enjoyed DIY.”

They said that making the series had deepened their friendship and they now texted each other on a daily basis. “We are the same,” Amanda explained. “We laugh at the same stuff. The worst time was when he was filming The Traitors and I didn’t hear from him for three weeks. I knew he must have done quite well because he was gone for so long.” After seeing Alan’s triumph on The Celebrity Traitors, Amanda is now in talks to take part in the next series later this year.

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