Norton lights up London

Chat show host Graham Norton kicked off this year’s Comic Relief last night by adding a stunning attraction to London’s skyline.

Norton and children’s BBC presenter Angelica Bell transformed the 620ft BT Tower, swathing it in “red nose red” for this year’s charity appeal.

With a flick of a switch on top of the BBC’s Broadcasting House across the city, the pair made one of the capital’s most famous landmarks glow bright red, with the help of 100 powerful spotlights on the base and top of the tower.

Norton said: “I am very excited about this year’s Comic Relief and it’s an enormous honour to be asked to launch the appeal with Angelica.

“It’s quite a famous landmark and hopefully people will be driving around London and will say to themselves ’Why is that thing red?’ and then they will remember it’s Comic Relief and it will give them plenty of time to raise money.”

Angelica added: “Children’s BBC are doing all sorts of different things for this year’s Comic Relief.

We are also lighting up the Botanical Gardens in Llanarthne and in Scotland we are going to make people believe that the Loch Ness monster is alive and wears a big red nose. We are going regional.”

The tower will be bathed in red from 6pm until midnight and again on Saturday night.

It also has portraits of Norton and Bell projected on the outside along with the appeal’s telephone number for donations.

BT has supported the charity since the first Red Nose Day in 1988.

The theme for this year’s event on Friday, March 14, is “The Big Hairdo” when stars and members of the public will transform their hairstyles to raise cash for charity.

The event, which takes place every two years, raised £55m (€82m) in 2001.