Sara Cox’s Children in Need 2025 Challenge
Sara Cox is swapping the DJ decks for dusty trainers this November, all in the name of Children in Need—yep, that one, with the adorable bear in need of a good home and some fresh socks. This year, Sara’s not just helping Pudsey with a quick TV spot or making a donation—she’s taking the bear on a wild trek covering five entire marathons in five days, from the Scotland–England border to the bear’s “spiritual home” of Pudsey in Leeds. The phrase “gruelling” gets thrown around a lot in charity press releases, but 135 hilly miles in November? That’s not just tough—it’s slightly bonkers.
Picture it: November wind, soggy Yorkshire hills, and a radio legend lugging a mascot teddy in a special backpack through four counties—Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire, and finally, West Yorkshire. No bikes, lifts, buses, or conveniently appearing mopeds. Just Sara (maybe occasionally cursing quietly), her trainers, an army of blisters, and, of course, Pudsey.
She admits herself: “When they picked me to get Pudsey to Pudsey, I was honoured and horrified in equal measure…135 miles of hills, moors and blisters!” That mix of nerves and pride? Refreshingly honest. Some folks do marathon challenges and make it sound like a walk in the park; Sara is clearly bracing for every single soggy, muddy, “are we nearly there yet?” step.
When Is Children in Need 2025?
Circle it—Friday, November 14, 2025 is the big night for the Children in Need telethon. That means three hours of pure, unpredictable chaos on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Expect to laugh at familiar faces in silly skits, shed a few tears at the heartbreaking stories, and, if you’re emotionally invested, refresh social media way too often for behind-the-scenes gossip.
This annual telethon isn’t just about the on-air glitz—the marathon fundraisers, like Sara’s 135-mile odyssey, are crucial. Maybe that’s why the segments about these challenges sometimes hit harder than the celebrity dances. There’s no word yet on the precise details for the Sara Cox documentary special, but betting it’ll drop after the main event feels safe. If it’s anything like past years, grab some tissues and prepare for awe mixed with laughter.
Small confession: Every time Children in Need rolls around, there’s a warm, fuzzy sense that, for just one evening, everyone in Britain is tuned to the same frequency—frantically texting donations between mugs of tea and arguing about which sketch was the best. That’s a kind of magic, isn’t it?
Who Is Hosting This Year?
Paddy McGuinness and Vernon Kay are teaming up to keep the Children in Need show on the rails in 2025. That probably means a lot of Bolton banter and the occasional “What are they wearing?!” moment. Paddy, who’s seasoned in charity endurance having cycled 300 miles for last year’s campaign (and ended up in tears when he saw how much he’d raised), is swapping his cleats for cue cards this time.
Vernon isn’t exactly a stranger to outrageous fundraising feats himself—remember his epic Leicester-to-Bolton run in 2023? That one pulled over £5 million across the finish line. Between the two of them, it’s safe to assume there won’t be a shortage of dad jokes, double acts, and maybe even the odd unplanned mishap on live TV. (It wouldn’t be Children in Need without something unscripted, right?)
No confirmed guest list yet—though previous years have seen everyone from A-list musicians to that neighborhood choir who always slightly miss the harmony. Frankly, these are the TV moments you can’t script and wouldn’t want to.
About Sara Cox
Sara Cox: radio star, author, TV presenter, and now, marathon legend-in-waiting. For many, she’s the voice that keeps weekday mornings rolling on BBC Radio 2, but her career is a bit like Mary Poppins’s handbag—bottomless, surprising, and maybe slightly magical if you catch her in the right light.
She got her big break on The Big Breakfast in the ‘90s—let’s be honest, that show raised a whole generation on chaos and cornflakes. Since then she’s been everywhere: hosting BBC’s Back in Time For…, leading Between the Covers for literature lovers, and keeping listeners company on radio mornings when the tea just isn’t hitting right.
Sara’s taken the stories from the studio to the page, too—her memoir, Till the Cows Come Home, is as British as it sounds, and her dive into fiction with novels like Thrown and Way Back shows she can spin a yarn even when the mic’s switched off. There’s something quietly inspiring about someone who can juggle live radio shows, book deadlines, family life, and, just for extra credit, five marathons with a bear in tow.
My favorite bit about Sara? She doesn’t sugar-coat the hard stuff. She’s honest about the nerves, the training she may or may not have squeezed in, and about lacing up for 135 miles despite a schedule most people wouldn’t try to run around—literally or figuratively.
