Children in Need launch

BT Group PLC
20 November 2003

                                                                20 November 2003

                 S-CLUB 8 & PUDSEY'S "CALL" TO MAKE THIS YEAR'S

                         BBC CHILDREN IN NEED A WINNER!


Today S-Club 8 is officially launching the BBC Children in Need donation line,
0845 733 2233, ready for another night of fundraising on Friday November 21,
2003. The band will join Pudsey at the top of BT Tower to call for everyone's
support in raising as much cash as possible.

This year, as always BT, will be providing the telephony, network management and
call centres for the appeal, including BT Tower. Call centre operatives will be
joined by celebrities such as teen band Busted and Nicki Chapman, who will be
helping to take calls. BT is also providing an online donation service - via
www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey - so it could not be easier to make a pledge.

Calvin from S-Club 8 explains: "Every penny donated to BBC Children in Need goes
towards helping thousands of children across the UK. Please make a donation and
who knows, if you get through to the BT Tower during BBC Children in Need, you
might end up speaking to a celebrity!"

BT expects to handle more than 200,000 calls on the night. A total of 60 call
centres across the UK will be involved in the telethon with 3,000 lines in
action.

Beth Courtier, Head of charity programmes at BT said: "It's great to see so many
organisations come together to make BBC Children in Need so successful. BT would
like to thank all the hundreds of volunteers across the UK who give up their
time to take calls, helping us to raise as much cash as possible. They're doing
their bit, make sure you do yours, call 0845 733 22 33 today."

Last year over £26 million was raised for BBC Children in Need and every penny
donated went towards helping children and young people in the UK. The charity
spent £15m for children experiencing poverty, deprivation or homelessness; £5m
for children suffering from illness, abuse, distress or neglect; £5m for
children with mental or physical disabilities; and more than £1m for children
with behavioural and psychological disorders.

                                      ENDS

   For more information please contact James Wright (07747 106 900) or Justin
  McKeown (0771 554 5973) on T.0870 606 0960 or Email [e-mail]

Notes to Editor

1. S Club 8

S Club 8 will be performing on Friday November 21 for BBC Children in Need at a
concert, which features other acts including Holly Valance, Cheeky Girls and
Konnie Huq. The concert begins at 7pm and ends at 10pm and takes place Weymouth
Pavilion Theatre car park, The Esplanade, Weymouth, Dorset.

2. BT & BBC Children in Need 2003

BT has been an active supporter of BBC Children in Need since the early 1980s by
providing the telephone network management and call centres to help raise money
for disadvantaged children and young people. This year, BT will once again be
providing the telephone network management for this year's Appeal and will be
operating five call centres on the night in: Cardiff, Colwyn Bay, Lincoln, Stoke
and BT Tower.

3. BT online donation service for BBC Children in Need

This year BT are also providing a fully automated electronic payments service
for BBC Children in Need 2003 to enable online donations for this year's
fundraising event. Based on BT Card Payments, this online service is fully
integrated with the Appeal website allowing people to make fast and secure
donations via the internet and help Pudsey Bear in his quest to top the £26
million raised last year. To make an online donation visit www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey

4. BBC Children in Need registered charity 802052

BBC Children in Need helps disadvantaged children and young people in the UK,
including those who experience bereavement, homelessness, neglect, abuse and
poverty as well as those with disabilities, terminal illness and addiction.

5. How much did the 2002 Appeal raise altogether?
The final total for the 2002 Appeal came to a massive £26m. (This includes the
amounts raised on the night, and also the money sent in later by people who
raised funds.)

6. History of BBC Children in Need

  • BBC Children in Need has been around longer than you might think. This
    year sees the 24th annual TV show, but Children in Need has been helping the
    nations' kids since the twenties. It started life as a 5-minute radio appeal
    on Christmas Day 1927, which raised £1,143 (about £27,150 in today's money).
  • When it first appeared on TV in 1955, with a helping hand from Sooty, it
    was still a Christmas appeal, and it remained a central part of the festive
    schedule for the next 25 years.

  • The first telethon appeal appeared on the nation's screens in 1980. Hosted
    by Terry Wogan, Esther Rantzen and Sue Cook, it captured the public's
    imagination, and for the first time the amount raised soared to over £1
    million.

  • Ever since then, there's been a star-studded telethon appeal every year,
    and so far viewers have managed to raise a massive £325 million for
    disadvantaged children throughout the UK. The charity has gone from strength
    to strength, and last year alone distributed almost 2,000 grants to a
    multitude of projects around the UK that help make a positive difference to
    the lives of disadvantaged children throughout the UK.

7. Who Do You Help?

BBC Children in Need welcomes applications from properly constituted non-profit
organisations. The children helped are aged 18 years and under, and live in the
United Kingdom. You should only apply for a grant if it will benefit children
who are disadvantaged by:

  • mental, physical or sensory disabilities
  • behavioural or psychological problems
  • living in poverty or situations of deprivation
  • illness, distress, abuse or neglect

Every penny donated to BBC Children in Need is used to make a difference to
children and young people's lives. All administrative costs are paid for from
the interest accumulated on the money raised by the public.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange