Radio stations unite for survivors today

Commerical radio stations across the nation are uniting for today UK Radio Aid to raise money to help survivors of the Asian Tsunami disaster.

The broadcast is expected to reach an audience of 20 million, with all money raised going to the Disasters Emergency Committee's relief fund.

The unprecedented union kicked off at 06.00 this morning with Davina McCall and Dermot O'Leary. After the broadcast she revealed: "This morning I was so scared, Dermot and I were petrified," reports the BBC.

"It was great to go on first because you have no-one to live up to and I think we had got into it by 7am.

"It was great - really exciting and an amazing experience to be part of."

Later, Chris Evans and Kate Thornton took the breakfast slot between 08.00 and 10.00 when Chris interviewed Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair spoke about the horrific events of Boxing Day and their aftermath and put a guided tour of Downing Street up for a charity auction on the show.

Speaking to Evans, the Prime Minister said: "The terrible thing is that this was a disaster for which people were completely unprepared.

"One of my ministers was there a short time afterwards and said that nothing he had seen on television quite prepared him for the devastation."

At 10.00 unlikely couple Jade Goody and Classic FM's Simon Bates took over, followed by Zoe Ball and EastEnders' Shane Ritchie.

The broadcast, featuring performances by stars such as Jamelia, Mel C, Bryan Adams, Jamie Cullum and David Gray will finish at 18.00 after a two-hour stint by Johnny Vaughan and Liza Tarbuck.