Sophie Ellis-Bextor raises £1million for Children In Need with danceathon

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has raised over £1million for BBC Children In Need after dancing for 24 hours straight.

The 42-year-old embarked on a massive Kitchen Disco Danceathon on Tuesday morning, inspired by the beloved Kitchen Discos she hosted during lockdown from her family home.

The Murder On The Dancefloor star kept dancing and performing throughout the night to a hand-picked playlist of tunes, and at 9.30am, Sophie finished her epic 24 hours on the dancefloor with a performance of Dancing Queen by ABBA, all while crying, dancing and looking after her kids.

Talk about multi-tasking.

When she finished her danceathon, Sophie was told she had raised £803,384.

Reacting to the total raised, Sophie told Radio 2’s Zoe Ball: ‘That’s phenomenal. Thank you so much.’

Getting emotional, she added: ‘This has been extraordinary. I always thought this would be an privilege to have done and I’ve never done anything like this so I want to thank everybody for giving me the opportunity and I’ve been weepy solidly for the last hour this has been really special and thank you to everybody who donated and everybody who gave me energy and support and messages, it’s got me through.’

However, the danceathon has now raised £1,009,317, as donations keep rolling in.

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: ‘All of us at Radio 2 would like to say the hugest thank you to Sophie Ellis-Bextor for agreeing to undertake and now completing an incredible 24 hours Kitchen Disco Danceathon, raising a total so far of £1,009,317 for BBC Children In Need. Thank you to all the wonderful Radio 2 listeners who have donated and all those who joined at any point in the Danceathon to support and motivate Sophie along the way. We are all in awe of her accomplishment!’

During the epic challenge, celebs like Gemma Collins, Rylan Clark, Bonnie Langford, Beverley Knight, JLS, Tony Blackburn, Gary Davies, Edith Bowman, Jamie Laing, Melvin Odoom, Sara Cox and Dawn O’Porter joined Sophie for stints on the dancefloor.

Her family – husband Richard, sons Sonny, Kit, Ray, Jesse and Mickey, and mum Janet Ellis, dropped in for the final half hour, while The Feeling star Richard spending the night supporting his wife.

He said: ‘I feel completely deranged. Sophie’s been completely unbelievable’, adding that he had tried to assist with cups of tea, as well as some dancing in solidarity.

Richard, also 42, quipped: ‘We vogued at around 4am with me wearing a horse’s head, which I think helped.’

Stars including Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Rick Astley and Natalie Imbruglia also sent messages of support throughout the challenge, as did Joe Wicks, who completed a 24-hour workout for Children In Need last year.

The mammoth Kitchen Disco was as glam as Sophie’s home-based editions, as she had multiple costume changes throughout the 24 hours, all multi-coloured and covered in sequins – teamed with comfy trainers, of course.

She also threw it back to her time on The Masked Singer by donning a few animal masks, and performed karaoke to her own single Get Over You as well as a duet with Tony Christie to (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.

With two hours left in her challenge, mum-of-five Sophie began to tear up, as she reflected on the magnitude of what the money raised could do.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘For the last few hours, I’ve had in my head all the faces of all the people I’ve met at all the projects I visited. And when I was going around the projects, I didn’t really know what an impact it would make on me.

‘I just think, I cannot complain because the money that is being raised is going to people who really need it, and I’m just dancing.’

Prior to the danceathon, Sophie got advice from Claudia Winkleman and Dermot O’Leary, who previously completed dance challenges for Children In Need, but joked that her large family had prepared her even more.

The Groovejet singer said: ‘I haven’t pulled an all-nighter for a long time. But because I have young children, there’s been plenty of days recently where I’ve ended up doing what I do with very little sleep.

‘Maybe that’s why the sleep deprivation doesn’t bother me as much as it might have done – because I don’t get much sleep anyway.’

While Sophie’s challenge has ended, you can still donate to Children In Need – to donate £10, text GIVE to 70410, and to donate £20, text GIVE to 70420.

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