Terry Wogan waives his £9,000 fee for Children in Need

He has faced criticism in the past for being the only celebrity paid for Children In Need.

But this time around, Terry Wogan has agreed to waive his fee.

Last year, the presenter received £10,340 for anchoring the BBC's charitable appeal. In 2005, he was paid £9,065.

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When details of the fees came to light, Wogan, who earns £800,000 a year for his Radio 2 show, said he had "never asked for a fee and would quite happily do it for nothing".

But the BBC said it had "considered it appropriate" to pay him a " noncommercial" fee.

"This fee has never been subject to negotiation," it added. "It is paid by the BBC and does not come from the funds of the BBC Children In Need Appeal Charity.

"No other BBC presenters or personalities were paid."

However, a report in the corporation's internal magazine Ariel said: "Terry Wogan will waive his fee for fronting the BBC Children In Need Telethon."

Last year, Wogan, 69, expressed concern that celebrities were being paid too much to present. "The culture now in television is that the presenter calls the financial and, increasingly, the creative shots," he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.

Friday's show will feature Kylie Minogue and the Spice Girls. Fearne Cotton will also present.