SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT. On Friday Intelligent Giving dispatched an intern to cast a beady eye over the live Children in Need show.

If you were looking for me, I was the dashing young man in the bottom left of the studio at the end of a row, wearing a yellow and grey striped jumper. I am happy to sign autographs. And go on dates.

I was booked in for the 10:35pm-2am graveyard slot, but managed to stay awake enough to see a succession of acts doing their stuff for Pudsey. David Gray and Annie Lennox were highlights, the BBC news team was more interesting.

In charitable terms the event was (as usual) an enormous success. Wogan’s constant begging for cash got the message through, and over £19 million was pledged (nearly a million up on last year). Even to a cold-hearted charity researcher like me, it was exciting to see the totalizer go up and up as the evening wore on. The tension was palpable.

"Children in Need was, in spite of my gripes, fun"

But the constant focus on the amount of money raised – and on beating the record – was irksome. First, raising large amounts of money doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be spent well. As it happens, Children in Need does have a good reputation for searching out small and worthy children’s charities – charities that often get ignored. This is the truly exceptional aspect of Children in Need, but Terry didn’t do it justice.

But the evening was, in spite of my gripes, fun to be at. And the cash dished out as a result will have an enormous impact on the lives of disadvantaged youngsters across the country.

I even managed to dance with Pudsey. My life is complete.

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