Paddy McGuinness to cycle 300 miles for Children in Need

BBC Radio 2 presenter Paddy McGuinness will cycle almost 300 miles to raise money for Children in Need’s 2024 Appeal.

In November, McGuinness will take on the Ultra Endurance Cycle Challenge, which will see him cycle through three nations and eight counties.

He will start on Monday 11 November in Wrexham and cycle through Flintshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire.

He aims to finish the challenge on the morning of Friday 15 November in Glasgow.

The presenter, who hosts the Sunday lunchtime programme on Radio 2, will complete the cycle on a BBC Children in Need customised and modified Raleigh Chopper – a bicycle popular with children in the 1970s.

Speaking about the challenge, the 51-year-old broadcaster said: “As a kid, I didn’t have much and used to be really jealous of my mates riding around on those bikes, so I’m really honoured to support BBC Children in Need by getting peddling to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

“‘No likey, no bikey’ just isn’t an option,” he joked, refashioning his famous Take Me Out catchphrase.

McGuinness has been a Radio 2 presenter since April 2024 and is best known as the host of shows including Take Me Out, Top Gear and Question of Sport.

Last year, fellow Radio 2 presenter, Vernon Kay, raised more than £6m for the charity with his ultra-marathon.

The DJ ran from Leicester to Bolton – a distance of 116 miles – over four days.

Kay said he knows “exactly what Paddy will be going through”.

“I and the rest of our Radio 2 buddies will be supporting him every pedal of the way, especially up all those hills – ouch!”

Children in Need is the BBC charity which helps improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people around the UK.

The BBC Children in Need’s televised appeal will take place on 15 November on BBC One.