Children in Need raised nearly £48m over its annual appeal day, the BBC said.

The total was announced at the end of the five-hour telethon on Friday, which featured a star-studded lineup including England football players, Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker and the Star Wars actor John Boyega.

The total raised was £47,886,382, the BBC said. Last year, the programme raised £50.6m by the end of the night.

Children in Need is the BBC’s official UK charity and money goes towards helping disadvantaged young people around the country. The annual show, broadcast live from the BBC’s Elstree Studios, was kicked off by co-hosts Tess Daly and Ade Adepitan, before Mel Giedroyc and Graham Norton took the reins.

The EastEnders stars Maisie Smith, Rudolph Walker, Louisa Lytton and Ricky Champ competed in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom. Smith, who was paired with Kevin Clifton, lifted a special Pudsey glitterball trophy after being judged the best of the bunch.

Daly revealed that some of the money raised would go towards those affected by the flooding across the country.

She said: “We also want to take a moment to send our love to the families who have been affected by the recent flood across part of England. Communities have really come together and we want to help, so Children in Need is planning on making additional funding available to support families who have been affected through its emergency essentials programme.”