Noel Edmonds returns to the BBC

Noel Edmonds is returning to primetime BBC One for the first time since Noel's House Party was axed.

The presenter will front National Lottery Day for the channel next month, a 90-minute special celebrating the good causes the Lottery has helped over the last twelve years. Edmonds hosted the first ever Lottery show in 1994.

Noel's House Party was a staple of BBC One's Saturday night schedule throughout much of the nineties, but was axed in 1999 amid falling ratings and a fallout between Edmonds and then-controller Peter Salmon.

Edmonds said he was looking forward to working on "exciting new programme ideas" for the BBC alongside his existing, long-term deal with Channel 4 for Deal Or No Deal.

BBC One controller Peter Fincham said that he hoped that the show would be the first of many to be fronted by Edmonds for the channel. "Noel is a presenter of immense talent and it is great to have him back on BBC One," he said. "This marks the beginning of a new chapter between Noel and the channel. We hope he will present more innovative live TV specials."