Pick of the day James’s big charity drive

RED NOSE DAY

TODAY is the day when it is perfectly acceptable, even normal, to walk around wearing a bright red foam nose. What a time to be alive! Children went to school this morning ready to do something funny for money, and your boss (probably) won’t bat an eyelid if you wear a silly wig to the staff meeting. And the day builds to the climax of tonight’s star-studded telethon, live from London’s O2, with promises of “mayhem and mirth”. As usual, there’s a fantastic array of comedy favourites lined up, including Sir Lenny Henry (below), Joe Lycett, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Warwick Davis, Sally Phillips, Jonathan Ross and French & Saunders. We can expect live sketches and musical moments, as well as some heartwrenching appeal films to encourage us to dig deep for Comic Relief. Of course, the biggest treat will be the hugely-anticipated special sequel of Love Actually, 13 years on. Many of the original cast have stepped up for Richard Curtis’s latest script, including Hugh Grant, Martine Mccutcheon, Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson and Keira Knightley. Watch out too for a special episode of Carpool Karaoke as James Corden takes shrinking boy band Take That for a spin around Los Angeles. There’s a Smack The Pony reunion, a preview of Mrs Brown’s upcoming new chat show and performances from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sande. Switch over to BBC2 at 10pm as Greg Davies hosts his Hot Tub Half Hour, before flicking back to BBC1 for Graham Norton’s Big Chat Live, with a gaggle of guests on a ludicrously long supersized sofa. And night owls can then enjoy an hour of comedy, compered by Russell Brand. The laughs just keep on coming...

BBC1, 7pm