BBC controversies about the Director General's decision'. The BBC's chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, affirmed the need to broadcast "without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality" and that in this case, it was a "real issue." The 2009 Gaza appeal is the only occasion on which the BBC is known to have refused an appeal broadcast request from the DEC. It is reported the 2009 DEC Gaza appeal screened only by Channel 4 and ITV raised £8.3m. In August 2014 the BBC broadcast a new DEC aid appeal for people in Gaza, without similar controversy, which raised £16m
Children in Need 2009 £20,309,747 by the end of the broadcast, slightly under the previous year's total of £20,991,216. During the break for the "BBC News at Ten" on BBC One, BBC Two broadcast a special edition of "Mastermind" with comedians Lucy Porter, Mark Watson, Dave Spikey and Stephen K. Amos as contestants. Lucy Porter was the eventual winner, with a "Celebrity Mastermind" record score of 35 points. As a prequel to the main televised event, a weekly television series began airing on 13 October 2009, where various celebrities attempted to travel around the world in 80 days without using air travel. Held on