Comic Relief is massively successful. Its blend of comic rudeness and passionate fight against poverty was watched by around nine million people last year.
By midnight, it had secured pledged donations of more than 22m.
What is it all about? Why does seeing Billy Connolly cavorting naked around Piccadilly Circus or a "watching teachers make fools of themselves" day connect with famine relief? Is it right that such life and death issues as healthcare in poverty-stricken Africa should depend on comedy?
Red Nose Day is far from solemn, but it manages to raise awareness in ways that the aid agencies and development educators approve of. Look at how the Comic Relief education films avoid portraying people as victims or passive recipients of aid. How important is this?
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