On Friday night, the BBC ran its Sport Relief telethon, raising £20m for charity. Amid all the polished entertainment, shiny celebrities and heart-breaking glimpses of the lives of the less fortunate, lies a fundamental assumption that has never really been challenged by the mainstream media. On the surface of it, it looks like millions are being pumped into good causes, but a look at the hard facts suggests this may not be the case at all.

You might assume I'm about to start ranting on about what charities do with the money they're given. I'm not. This article isn't about how the money is spent - it's about where it came from.