Children in Need is back for another fundraising extravaganza and now, more than ever, Pudsey needs your help.
The charitable event, which started all the way back in 1980, brings together celebrities with the aim of raising money for disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
If you're looking to contribute to Children in Need this year, here is everything you need to know.
How to donate to Children in Need
There are several ways people can donate money to Children in Need, including through the internet, on the phone, via text or through the post.
Internet
Those wishing to donate online can do so by visiting the BBC Children in Need website and selecting the 'donate online' button.
From here, users will be prompted to select an amount and determine if this will be a one-off payment.
Phone or text
Donations can also be made over the phone or via text with those choosing to place a call able to ring 0345 733 2233.
To donate by text, you'll need to message a keyword to one of the donation numbers. For example, if you wish to donate £5, you'll need to text FIVE to 70716.
The full list of numbers and codes can be found here.
Recommended Reading:
How to watch Children in Need 2024 and what to expect on the night
Children in Need reveals presenter lineup with Vernon Kay, Rochelle Humes and more
Post
According to organisers, Post Offices, HSBC and most other banks & building societies will accept donations all year round.
Who is Pudsey Bear?
You would be forgiven for thinking that Pudsey has been around as long as the BBC fundraiser but he actually didn't come around until much later.
The first Children In Need telethon was broadcast in 1980 but it had many names and faces before that, with the first-ever children's BBC radio appeal starting in 1927.
Pudsey might be the iconic mascot of the appeal now but he didn't come to be the face of the charity until 1985, making the beloved bear almost 40 years old.
He was created by a BBC graphic designer called Joanna Lane, who worked in the design department.
Lane told the BBC: “It was like a lightbulb moment for me, We were bouncing ideas off each other and I latched on to this idea of a teddy bear.
"I immediately realised there was a huge potential for a mascot beyond the 2D logo”.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here