[sjames]

How many presenters do the BBC have left who could hold down a show of that nature without heavily relying on autocue?  We don't have the training grounds of the Big Breakfast or Saturday morning kids TV these days.

I suspect some of the existing ones could, were they allowed to.

I’m not saying entirely unscripted of course, it was never that.

I'm surprised really Michael McIntyre isn't more involved in Red Nose Day. I reckon he'd be one that could handle going off script as seen recently on the Big Show when technology failed during the Send To All section. He still managed to laugh it off and keep the audience entertained whilst it was being sorted, and that whole section could have been edited out, but it was kept in.

Like others have said both CIN and Comic Relief seem to be very rigid in format these days, there's no spontaneity that anything could happen at a moment's notice. It also feels tired with the same things being repeated each year in CIN's case the rickshaw ride and the children's choir. Both need freshening up, and I would look to do something along the lines of Saturday Night Takeaway as starting point of a balance between fun studio and film elements.

1999 will always be the one that stands out for me in terms of Comic Relief, as it seemed such a massive event with the Boyzone song, Doctor Who sketch, and an afternoon of CBBC all hyping up to the main event.