´óÏó´«Ã½

Generous ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 2 listeners have been showing off their spots and have raised a staggering £1,693,444 for this year's ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need Appeal.

Radio 2's Children in Need campaign included an exclusive Bon Jovi concert, money-can't-buy prizes auctioned on both Weekend Wogan and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and two music marathon days, where listeners pledged money for music. The money that Radio 2 listeners have raised for Children in Need will help change the lives of some of the most disadvantaged children right here in the UK.

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show raised an astounding £1m in just three days by offering a series of amazing auction prizes. Kicking off the auctions on Tuesday 16 November was the Big Boundary Cricket Auction where Malcolm Bluemel, owner of Planet Rock, paid £65,000 for the privilege of playing cricket alongside a "super-squad" of Freddie Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Darren Gough, Michael Vaughan and Ronnie Irani against famous charity cricket team The Bunbury's, whose squad includes Eric Clapton and Rory Bremner. The match will be played at Malcolm's local cricket club in Ramsgate.

Darren Gough said: "What you're getting is a bunch of cricketers who are not just happy to play cricket game but they are happy to stay around and party all night if you want as well! That is the idea of this prize, you get the Flintoff, you get the Gough and you get the Vaughan, you get the Irani and you get the Harmison. You have got a proper drinking team – in fact, this drinking team will have a serious cricket problem!"

Golf's No. 1 Lee Westwood heard the cricket auction and got so caught up in the excitement that he decided to offer a lucky listener the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of playing golf against him and Chris Evans, all in aid of Pudsey, of course.

Also on Wednesday, Chris held his Magnificent Seven auction with a chance for seven listeners to drive some top-of-the-range cars in convoy through the countryside, pit-stopping at a spa hotel and riding the famous Goodwood hill climb at the Festival of Speed.

Once again, Chris also offered his listeners the chance to bid to attend his glittering Dine & Disco event and for the second year running – football manager Mick McCarthy was one of the successful bidders. This wonderful weekend includes a golf day featuring a clinic with professionals, a sumptuous dinner cooked by Giorgio Locatelli, a DJ set from Mr Evans himself followed by an intimate gig from James Blunt, Paloma Faith and Paolo Nutini. This year there will even be a wedding conducted by the Reverend Rob Gillion at the Dine & Disco event, as a couple who met at the event a couple of years ago tie the knot. Listeners could also enter a phone-line raffle to win a place if they weren't in a position to bid for a prize.

Children in Need legend Terry Wogan was once again championing the charity and raised an impressive £175,000 in just two hours with his auction of exclusive prizes on Weekend Wogan on Sunday 14 November.

Among the unique lots in this year's on-air sale were the chance to have lunch with Terry at his home and an opportunity to sing live on Weekend Wogan with Elio Pace and the Band. Other auctions lots were a make-over by style guru Gok Wan; the opportunity to cook a meal for legendary restaurateur Raymond Blanc; and the chance to win a night at the opera with Britain's favourite tenor, Alfie Boe.

Togs could bid to win a private concert with performances from Radio 2's Aled Jones, Lesley Garrett and Strictly's Brendan Cole, or to go Leopard tracking in Namibia with Ray Mears. And auctions of winning tickets to the opening night of Shrek The Musical, see Legally Blonde, have tea at the RAF club with Battle of Britain veterans, eat with Michelin-starred chefs and play against world-class tennis professionals were all successfully bid for.

Terry Wogan said: "I just want to thank everyone who bid at the auction in aid of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Children in Need. We have raised far in excess of what we hoped."

Bon Jovi fans also helped swell the coffers with a competition to win tickets for an exclusive gig at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Maida Vale studios which was broadcast live on Simon Mayo's Radio 2 Drivetime Show in front of an intimate audience of just 100 people. The competition raised £10,000 and the generous Bon Jovi boys matched that to make the total raised £20,000.

In addition, Radio 2 held two mega-music marathons on 14 and 19 November where listeners were able to hear their requests on the radio in exchange for a donation.

The first mini-marathon took place on Sunday 14 November during Johnnie Walker's and Paul O'Grady's shows. Children in Need day, Friday 19 November, was the date for the second music marathon where all Radio 2 shows from 7am to 7pm were dedicated entirely to playing listeners songs and requests as long as they pledged to donate to the children's charity.

Phil Hughes, Radio 2's Children in Need co-ordinator, comments: "Radio 2 listeners have once again been incredibly generous and we are very grateful to everyone who supported Radio 2's Children in Need appeal this year. Most importantly, we're delighted that we've been able to raise such a large amount of money which will make such a difference to some of the UK's most disadvantaged children."

LDS