Tess Daly will no longer present 'Children In Need'.

Tess Daly

Tess Daly

The 51-year-old television star has hosted the BBC's annual charity telethon for the past 11 years but has decided to "pass the presenting baton over" ahead of its 40-year anniversary.

Announcing the news, she shared a series of photos of her taking part on the programme including one with her with late long-time host Sir Terry Wogan, another with co-presenter Ade Adepitan and cuddly mascot Pudsey Bear on her Instagram.

The accompanying post read: "For the past 11 years I've had the great privilege of presenting 'Children In Need' alongside brilliant presenters and an amazing team.

"Pudsey and what he represents will always hold a special place in my heart but it's time to pass the presenting baton over as the show reaches it's amazing 40-year milestone. That's four decades of the British public donating and heroically fundraising over £1bn towards changing children's lives for the better."

Although she did not give a reason for leaving the show, Tess will continue to support the charity's various initiatives that help disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

She continued: "But 'Children In Need' isn't just an annual event, it works tirelessly all year round and I'm excited that I will continue to work alongside some of the vitally important projects that this extraordinary charity supports, seeing first-hand what a profound affect these unprecedented times have had, and to find out what more we can do to help."

'Children In Need' was first broadcast in 1980 with Wogan serving as the show's longest-standing host for 35 years.

Tess joined the show in 2008 when she hosted alongside Terry and Fearne Cotton until Terry's death in 2016.

Together, Tess and Terry took part in a 'Strictly Come Dancing' 'Children In Need' special, where she beat her co-host and took home the glitterball trophy with her partner Anton du Beke.

Since then she has been joined on the mic by an array of famous faces, including Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Graham Norton and Tom Allen.

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