Theatre News

BBC confirms National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals broadcast date and line-up

The broadcast is coming up later this month!

Alex Wood

| Nationwide |

18 March 2026

jason manford — Photo by BBC/TBI Media/Scott Garfitt

The BBC has confirmed the date and time for the National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals broadcast.

The original starry concert took place on Monday 26 January at Manchester’s AO Arena.

Now in its fifth year, the event is hosted by Jason Manford and features performances from West End productions, touring shows and National Lottery-funded organisations. The evening marks more than £1.4 billion of funding awarded to over 29,000 theatre-related projects across the UK over the past 31 years.

The programme features The Lion King, Oliver!, Sunny Afternoon and Paddington The Musical, with Annie and La Voix as Miss Hannigan, alongside a Disney medley dedicated to composer Alan Menken (featuring Lucie Jones, Mae Ann Jorolan and Trevor Dion Nicholas). and a special number involving a National Lottery-funded choir with The Choir of Man.

On top of these are Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Sam Ryder, The Producers, Wicked and I’m Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical, with Alexandra Burke playing Chaka Khan.

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 28 March 2026 (at 7.45pm) in a 90-minute special, with a compilation programme of highlights from previous years currently available on BBC iPlayer.