It came on Wednesday, November 14 when Martin Ainscough from Wigan bid £250,000 during Terry Wogan’s BBC Radio 2 Children In Need Appeal auction.
It is the 22nd year that Viney has joined Wogan in the studio for four days of auctioning on air – and together they raised a record-breaking £894,000 for the 2007 appeal.
The top bid saw callers compete for the opportunity to have singers Aled Jones and Katie Melua perform at an event of their choosing. Mr Ainscough has arranged for the two stars to perform at an intimate gig at Revolution in Manchester to raise funds for the Prince’s Trust.
Other major contributions to the total included £100,000 from Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter for two VIP passes to the 2008 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Then there was £83,000 paid for the chance to see Led Zeppelin play live at the O2 Arena and watch them in rehearsal the day before.
Last year was the first time the auctions broke through the £500,000 barrier. The top bid then was £47,000 and the final total £512,400. This year’s sum represents a 75 per cent increase on that.
Terry Wogan dubbed the record-breaking Wednesday as “the most amazing, the most wonderful day I’ve ever had on radio”.
Viney takes record charity bid at Wogan’s auction
Woolley & Wallis still hold the record for any item sold at auction in the UK outside London. Now it looks like their chairman, Paul Viney, could also hold the record for the top price raised for a single lot at a charity auction.
