PUDSEY Bear is 21 this year and the Children in Need Appeal is hoping a cash bonanza will mark his coming of age.

As ever, the BBC is committed to marathon broadcasts on TV and radio from 6.30pm this evening.

A galaxy of stars have promised to be part of the event - including pop bands S Club 7, All Saints and Texas.

Celebrities taking on unfamiliar roles for charity include TV vet Trude Mostue, newsreader Fiona Bruce and the BBC weather team.

Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin anchor the televised coverage at Broadcasting House in London.

But the North has a role to play too. Richmond Castle, in North Yorkshire, and Newcastle's Eldon Garden shopping centre are to act as focal points for regional events throughout the night.

Live links to the historic Norman ruins in Richmond are planned every hour, including updates on the cash raised locally.

But, when the cameras are focused elsewhere, entertainment in the grounds will include a medieval tournament between schools from the area, each assigned a knight in shining armour by the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

A parade by the Regiment of Gurkhas, a re-enactment of the Legend of the Richmond Drummer Boy, an abseiling demonstration by the Army, a motorcycle display team and a procession of live bands are also part of the programme, hosted by Look North's Wendy Gibson and John Lawrence.

The Eldon Garden crowds can expect a fashion show and performances by a blues band and a string quartet.

Local soccer heroes have also been invited to attend. A £5 donation will be requested as admission from those who haven't been involved in fund-raising events themselves.

Last year, the Children In Need Appeal donated more than £750,000 to 64 local projects in the North-East and Cumbria.

Among the largest grants were £24,168, which went to the Meadowell Children's Project in North Shields to pay for two part-time staff.

Another £10,000 went to the Percy Hedley Centre in Newcastle for the renovation of the hydrotherapy pool; £37,248 to the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre in Hartlepool, which needed help with cash to cover the costs of a new project worker; and £14,629 to the Frizington Nursery Lunch Club to help cover the costs of a new kitchen.

www.bbc.co.uk/cin