We are no longer accepting comments on this article. How tough a challenge is this? PETER WALKER: Are slim people ALWAYS fitter than fatties? David Walliams swim in river Thames makes a million for charity This article is more than 9 years old Clambering exhausted but triumphant from the … Guernsey goes into lockdown for the first time in seven months after four new Covid-19 cases were discovered... Don't make phone calls or talk to each other on public transport to prevent spread of Covid, French... Hope for Spanish summer holidays: Madrid 'wants to welcome first tourists in spring' and denies claim it... BBC lockdown home-schooling programme tells 9-year-olds there are 'over 100 genders' and shows kids talking... Kenneth Branagh is set to play Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a gripping Sky drama depicting the first wave... SARAH VINE: BBC home-schooling programme that tells 9-year-olds there are 'over 100 genders' is a... Life after Lupo for Kate and Wills: The Cambridges get a new spaniel puppy from her brother James Middleton, TikTok trolls accuse CBeebies star Mr Tumble of being racists because his catchphrase is 'hello monkey'. The famous stretch of water is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, with 600 tankers and 200 ferries crossing it every day. During the crossing, he had to swim through shoals of jellyfish, and cope with water temperatures as low as 15C. The comedian spent the last year training with former Olympic modern pentathlete Greg Whyte. It took Walliams 10 hours and 30 minutes to complete the 21-mile swim, around four hours less than he thought. David has made 1 solo Channel swim David Walliams hoped to complete the swim in 16 hours, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The 34-year-old comedian hopes to complete the swim in under 16 hours. The cross-channel comedian is now among the favourites for the BBC's prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award. “I personally did … Whilst such desires can be praiseworthy, in many instances they display a gross underestimation of th… But jokes aside, what the 34 … It is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes - 600 tankers and 200 ferries cross it every day. Walliams was given a special award in recognition of his sporting efforts for charity. In 2006, Walliams completed a swim across the English Channel, raising £1m for Sport Relief. He reached Westminster Bridge eight … Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, He later received a special award at the BBC's Sports … The 34-year-old comedian, who entered the water at Shakespeare Beach in Dover, Kent, at 0531 BST on Tuesday, reached France at about 1600 BST. Walliams will also have to contend with winds gusting to gale force six and waves up to two metres high. Distance swimming events are not something to be entered into casually, or at the last minute. It is important not to enter such events without giving due consideration to the difficulties of the task. More people have reached the summit of Everest than have successfully swum the Channel. Over the past 11 months he has undertaken a rigorous training regime under the guidance of former Olympic pentathlete Greg Whyte. 1 The tides When comedian David Walliams, star of Little Britain, made it across the Channel in a pretty spectacular 10 hours and 34 minutes this week, becoming one of the top 50 Channel … Matt Lucas produced a documentary on the subject, entitled Little Britain's Big Swim. Although initially tipped as a contender for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year poll for 2006, Walliams failed to make the final shortlist of 10 contenders… Walliams took 10 hours and 34 minutes to cross the Channel. 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Trump spends his first weekend as ex-president playing golf at his West Palm Beach club... New BBC Three documentary 'DIY Trans Teens' reveals how children can buy sex-change drugs. Walliams is hoping to raise as much as £500,000 for Sport Relief and had to train for 11 months to get in shape for the swim. "I thought it was going to take me about 14 hours - well, if I was going to get there. “A good mix of pool and open water swimming is best,” advocates Jai. DAVID WALLIAMS has raised millions for Comic Relief with his gruelling physical challenges. "David has been working tirelessly over the past 11 months to make an attempt on the Channel, demonstrating a level of work and commitment as great as any elite athlete I have met.". "I feel relieved because we needed a happy ending to this story. David Walliams has donated £1,000 to the fundraising page of Susan Taylor, the charity swimmer who tragically died while attempting to cross the English Channel. The comedian will set off from Lechlade in Gloucestershire on 5 … Connie Emmett is using a … Five years ago David Walliams swam the English Channel in just over 10 hours. A 10-year-old who is swimming the distance of the English Channel to raise money for the NHS received a special good luck message. Comedian David Walliams has done his bit for Sport Relief, swimming the channel from England to France. The fastest solo swim across the Channel is a little over seven hours. Fewer than 10% of people who have attempted to swim the Channel have succeeded. Walliams had to complete the eight-hour swim in Croatia before the Channel Swimming Association would let him try to cross the 21-mile English Channel. Toxic secrets behind your mobile phone: Electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels... how our so-called... Facebook apologises for banning users from mentioning National Trust beauty spot Devil's Dyke after branding... Princess Beatrice's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi sports a personalized baseball cap as they go food... Susanna Reid, 50, fears being left alone in her 'empty nest' when all three of her sons go off to university. Walliams, who turned 40 two weeks ago, set off at the sound of a … The slowest is nearly 27 hours. He knew that more than 90 per cent of people who attempt the swim fail. He had expected the crossing to take 14 hours, so was "relieved and pleased" to make it in 10 hours and 34 minutes. David Walliams said he felt relieved after completing a 140-mile swim along the length of the River Thames. Total raised for Sport Relief so far tops £300,000; Many men would have given up by now. Comedian David Walliams has finished a 140-mile swim (225km) of the River Thames for charity. Walliams successfully completed the 21-mile swim across the English Channel to France on Tuesday 4 July. Now lone mothers are banned from FILMING their baby scan despite maternity units already stopping partners... BBC stops Panorama team probing Martin Bashir's Diana interview having easy access to basic documents. David Walliams is still suffering from the after-effects of his charity Thames swim. I feel it's taken the sting out of the World Cup.". € While preparing for his Channel swim, Walliams didn’t miss a single training session in nine months. After his epic swim, Walliams told BBC Radio One he had completed it much faster than he thought he would. David Walliams has had many a challenge to deal with in recent times. David has some advantages. Little Britain star David Walliams will attempt to swim the English Channel to raise money for Sport Relief. "The English Channel is the blue ribbon event of endurance swimming and represents one of the toughest physical challenges on the planet," said Whyte, who is director of science and research at the English Institute of Sport. The Channel Swimming Association chairman Michael Read, who is the "king" of the sport, having completed the crossing a record 33 times, kept a watchful eye from the boat. Walliams undertook the gruelling swim as part of Sport Relief, he has now raised a magnificent �1 million. Mix it up. … Walliams will brave the freezing waters in a bid to make the gruelling 21-mile distance. They tend to be events that athletes need to commit to a long-time in advance. David Walliams and James Cracknell swim 12-mile Strait of Gibraltar in 4 hours 36 minutes A revolting retching sound rang out across the Strait of Gibraltar as David Walliams … A one-hour documentary about his attempt, Little Britain's Big Swim, will be broadcast on BBC1 on July 14. David Walliams pictured at the start of his 21-mile swim Channel swimming experts said it was a phenomenal performance that put him among the top 50 fastest … Channel Swim 3 – Thinking about David Walliams Posted on June 24, 2019 January 8, 2020 by Stuart Handley With two of my three ‘A’ races for 2019 done ( Blenheim Weekend Warriors and Escape from Alcatraz ) and the last just two weeks away ( Long Course Weekend ) I’m finding my mind turning more and more often to next years channel swim. To pledge your support, visit www.sportrelief.com/superswim. Less than 10 per cent of people who have attempted the challenge have succeeded in reaching France. Walliams covered himself in grease to keep warm and is being given food from a pole on his support boat during the swim. Inside Kamala Harris's new home: The Vice-President will move into 14-bedroom Washington DC mansion -... Back in the swing! The odds on Walliams lifting the coveted trophy in December have shrunk from a massive 119-1 to 7-2. On 6 November 2006, Walliams won the Pride of Britain Award for "The Most Influential Public Figure" as he raised more than £1.5 million swimming the channel for the Sport Reliefcharity. Little Britain star David Walliams is a step closer to realising his ambition to swim the Channel for Sport Relief after completing his 'qualifier' swim. The 34-year-old comedian, who entered the water at Shakespeare Beach in Dover, Kent… No comments have so far been submitted. David Walliams hoped to complete the swim in 16 hours Little Britain star David Walliams has successfully completed the 21-mile swim across the English Channel … actor, David Walliams, says that he was never sporty at school but he did enjoy swimming. SNP vows to UNILATERALLY hold a second Scottish independence referendum if Sturgeon wins May election - and... We can vaccinate ALL teachers, say schools: Heads send Boris a plan for huge seven-day operation  to... Disney+ blocks under-sevens from watching 'racist' Peter Pan, Dumbo and The Aristocats for breaching... We're sadder, poorer... and fatter: Mail on Sunday survey finds Britain is suffering under lockdown - but... PETER HITCHENS: So is this really an epidemic of despair? David Walliams's diary: My epic Thames swim. In Greg Whyte’s book, Achieving the Impossible, comedian David Walliams says, with little swimming background, he started training in the autumn of 2005 and swam the English Channel in the summer of 2006. Following David Walliams’ successful Channel swim, several celebrities have postulated about swimming the Channel themselves. There was the struggle to make it in comedy, swimming The Channel for … David Walliams' good luck message to 'Channel swim' girl A 10-year-old girl swam the equivalent distance of the English Channel - in her garden. Talk show host Larry King dies aged 87 at LA hospital just three weeks after being transferred from the ICU... Help the Mail get computers to kids - and change lives: How YOU can take part in our campaign to ensure all... Welsh Tory leader QUITS after admitting he drank alcohol on Welsh parliament grounds with other MPs days... IOC 'in talks with World Health Organisation to accelerate process of getting athletes vaccinated' in... or debate this issue live on our message boards. Whyte described swimming the channel as "one of the toughest physical challenges on the planet". Labour shadow Foreign Secretary praises calls for British Army to be replaced with a 'gender-balanced human... Scar-free stitch in the stomach could help patients shed up to FIVE stone in six months - and cut their risk... Post-Brexit hiccups 'will add £1.50 to a bottle of fine wine'. Townsend tells me he was simply trying to beat David Walliams’s time. David Walliams successfully swam the Channel ( ) The comedian spent 10 hours and 34 minutes in cold water to complete the swim - which he hopes will raise more than £500,000 for Sport Relief. David Walliams is braving raw sewage to raise money for Sport Relief by swimming much of the length of the Thames. Proof the Pfizer Covid vaccine works in the real world? Israeli healthcare group says coronavirus infections... DAN HODGES: The truth Boris haters can't bear to admit - he has a plan to fight coronavirus and it's... Boris Johnson will 'force travellers from high-risk Covid countries to quarantine in hotels for ten days' in... MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: A spectacular and public-spirited offer Boris Johnson should accept. "I'll just be in a pair of Speedos and goggles - it's what the public wants," says David Walliams about his attempt to swim the English Channel. Mr Walliams… The comedian David Walliams records encounters along the way with cheering crowds, E Coli and a hapless dog. 814th person to swim the Channel. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Little Britain star David Walliams will attempt to swim the English Channel to raise money for Sport Relief. David Walliams swims the Channel 5 show all Little Britain star David Walliams bids farewell to wellwishers as he sets off on his cross-Channel swimming challenge. Britons will refuse to live 'like Troglodytes' under indefinite lockdowns, says rebel Tory MP as he urges No... Britain's coronavirus cases fall again amid 'scaremongering' row: Scientists play down more deadly variant... People who have received first Covid-19 jab must stay at home for THREE WEEKS, says Jonathan Van-Tam as... Diary of a paramedic: We're now rushing a lot of younger patients into hospital and a father, 45, and... 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