Laticrete UK are proud and honoured to have sponsored one of the events held around the United Kingdom to raise money for the BBC Children in Need Appeal 2016.
- 1955: It all began with the gloved puppet ‘Sooty’
- 1980: First ‘Telethon’ BBC Children in Need.
- 1985: ‘Pudsey’ makes his first appearance.
- 2016: Laticrete sponsor
The first televised appeal took place in 1955 and was called the ‘Children’s Hour Christmas Appeal’ with the yellow glove puppet ‘Sooty Bear’ and Harry Corbett fronting it. The Christmas Day appeals continued on TV and radio until 1979. It was in 1980 that the first Children in Need telethon was broadcast and it was devoted to raising money exclusively destined for charities working with children in the United Kingdom. At this point the BBC saw a dramatic rise in the donations due to the new format of the show and popular presenters, most famous being the much loved Sir Terry Wogan who made the BBC live appeal show his own with his unique charm and professionalism. In 1985 Pudsey Bear made his first appearance, created by BBC designer Joanna Ball, the name ‘Pudsey’ was taken from her home town name in Yorkshire.
For the BBC Children in Need Appeal 2016 ‘Pudsey’ was transformed into a stunning mosaic piece of art by one of the many mosaic artists LATICRETE sponsor. David Arnott from Salford attended an apprentice tile fixing course at Salford College of Technology, his skill and excellent workmanship was soon recognised and he was presented with a ‘craft award’ by Ian Kershaw from Tiles UK, Salford and was the first tiler to win a craft award from City & Guilds. David now concentrates on his mosaic art pieces for commercial and private clients.
David created the 6 foot ‘Pudsey’ mosaic in his work shop with the help of his apprentice, Lee Ratcliffe out of 2484 pieces of tile, each tile piece representing a project funded by Children in Need. At this point however the pieces were not fixed but were numbered on the back and the corresponding number wrote onto the mosaic substrate to be fixed on site. The event took place at the BBC MediaCityUK, Salford where the public were invited to own a piece of the mosaic and fix it into place for a £2.00 donation. The event raised £4,968 which went towards the record amount raised this year of £46.6m.
The tile pieces were fixed with Laticrete 254 Platinum Adhesive and after the event the mosaic was grouted with Laticrete Spectralock Pro Premium Grout. The ‘Pudsey’ mosaic will become a permanent fixture outside the BBC Television Centre at MediaCityUK, Salford.
