The head of Comic Relief has halted its use of celebrities for appeals described by an aid watchdog as “poverty tourism” that reinforce white saviour stereotypes.

The departure from having white celebrities front fundraising films from Africa for Sports Relief and Red Nose Day, follows another scathing attack on Comic Relief last week.

In a film for BBC’s Daily Politics, David Lammy MP hit out at the 30-year-old charity for portraying Africa as a continent of poverty-stricken victims and stereotypes who don’t speak for themselves. The organisations had “tattooed images of poverty in Africa” on to people’s minds, he said.

But Liz Warner, CEO of Comic Relief, which runs biennial events Sports Relief and Red Nose Day, told the Guardian the organisation had taken its “first steps” towards change.

In an interview on the eve of the 24-hour telethon that raised a record-breaking £55.4m in 2016, Warner said the charity had replaced the use of celebrity storytellers with Africans, allowing them to speak for themselves. The fresh appeals, to be broadcast on Friday night, also balanced stories of poverty and need with more optimistic, complex tales, she said.

Warner told the Guardian: “You’ll see the films we put into Sports Relief are a step towards that, towards change. People talking in the first person in their own voices, with local heros and local heroines talking to us about the work they’re doing. You won’t see a celebrity standing in front of people talking about them. You’ll see people talking for themselves.”

One of the appeal films to be broadcast, about street children in Kampala, Uganda, will be introduced by Rio Ferdinand – but he does not appear in the film. Instead Elvis, a Ugandan charity worker, and the children explain the issues to the viewer.

She admitted it was a risky strategy as celebrities are a sure bet when it comes to bringing in funding. Over its-30 year history, Red Nose Day has raised more than £1bn for charities it funds.

Liz Warner CEO of Comic Relief. Photograph: Dario Mitidieri

Public trust in the aid sector has been hit by the sexual abuse scandal at Oxfam and by sexual harassment revelations at other charity organisations including Save the Children. Comic Relief was among those asked to report any safeguarding cases to the Department of International Development but it had none to declare.

Warner said she was “personally affronted” by the revelations last month. She would like to see more female CEOs in charities and has recently recruited three new trustees, including one woman and someone who was previously homeless.

“I’m a woman working in the sector and it’s highly repugnant and it’s a violation of the people and the women we seek to help. It’s a wake up call and we need to change,” she said.

Warner, the former CEO of television production company Betty, said that the money raised is only part of the impact she wants Comic Relief to make.



She talked about “embedding purpose” in the charity’s work, citing Zoe Ball’s UK cycling challenge, from Blackpool to Brighton in which she visits mental health charities to highlight problems with male depression and suicide. Ball’s partner, Billy Yates, killed himself after a long battle with depression.

“You’ve got to be bold and brave going forward. We can’t be irresponsible in not raising money for the work we do but we have to be about total impact rather than always chasing totals. It ought to be about the total impact. Raising money and raising awareness is the perfect storm.”

She also plans to recruit ambassadors and to ensure “behind the scenes” they are well-informed about the issues they are dealing with. Critics have hit out at celebrities fronting development issues they are ill-informed about.

Warner describes winning an award in December last year for “most offensive” campaign for an Ed Sheeran-fronted appeal for street children in Liberia as a “gauntlet”, thrown down for us to change. The campaign, in which the singer offers to pay hotel costs for street children in Liberia, verged on “poverty tourism”, according to the jury.

David Lammy says images of poverty in Africa have been tattooed on to people’s minds because of the campaigns. Photograph: LNP/Rex/Shutterstock

However, she said some of Lammy’s criticism of Comic Relief was outdated. “His argument was probably more germane six to 12 months ago. Let’s see what he feels in a year’s time.

“The portrayal of Africa is not solely in the hands of Comic Relief. We are here to tell the story of poverty wherever it lies.

“There’s been incredible progression in places like Niger and Kenya. Just like we don’t go and film Canary Wharf to show images of poverty in the UK or the stucco houses of Notting Hill to show what happened at Grenfell, likewise we don’t film the rising hotel blocks of Kampala.

“It’s very difficult to tackle it in a three-minute film without being too simplistic.

“It is a point that people living here, the diaspora want to see different stories, That’s for documentaries on BBC Two and Channel 4, maybe there needs to be a different platform.

“We don’t proclaim to be perfect by any means, its a journey we’re on and we’re not perfect.”

She said she had invited Lammy to Comic Relief to talk and he had agreed. “I have invited him into make a film” she said. “Let’s see if he can do it.”

Sports Relief begins on BBC1 at 7pm on Friday.