David Walliams Completes Charity Thames Swim

British comedy actor David Walliams completed an incredible 140-mile swim down the River Thames yesterday. For the previous eight days he had spent as long as 12 hours each day in the water, raising more than £1.1million for the Sport Relief charity.

Walliams (picture above) is famous for his role in sketch show Little Britain which he starred in and wrote with Matt Lucas. However, five years ago, he began his work with Sport Relief when he swam across the English Channel and raised over a million pounds. This year he decided to take on a far bigger challenge.

Epic Challenge

It all started on Monday last week, when he set off from the source of the Thames in Gloucestershire. Swimming over 20 miles a day, he faced not just the daunting prospect of 110,000 strokes (!), but also the currents, temperature and pollution in the Thames. Indeed, on the very first day he suffered symptoms of hyperthermia after spending so long in the 15^oC water. This was made far worse on the second day when he contracted ‘Thames Tummy' from swimming in the unclean river. The 40-year-old star explained:

"There was a lot against me at the beginning and the water was a lot colder because the summer was so bad. Being sick was a low point. I lost my mojo but I thought if I try I can keep going."

He was cheered on along the entire 140-mile route by thousands of members of the public, as well as a number of his celebrity friends. His model wife Lara Stone was joined by comics Jimmy Carr, Miranda Hart and Rob Brydon (to name but a few) at various points along the course.

Huge Amounts of Money Raised 

He finally reached the end of his epic journey yesterday evening when he arrived in Westminster to huge cheering crowds. In typically modest fashion, he emphasised the importance of those that had helped him along the way:

"The two things that have really kept me going so far are the updates of the fundraising totals I'm given and the stunning support I've been given by the public. There must have been tens of thousands of people along the route and I can hear their cheers as I'm swimming."

The reason for putting himself through such an ordeal is the huge amounts of money he has raised for Sport Relief. Throughout his journey thousands of people have been donating money, and by the time he finished, the total was at a staggering £1,093,325; a figure that is still rising. Sport Relief is an annual event in Britain which raises millions of pounds for needy people around the world, as well as those that need help in the UK. If you would like to find out more or donate, then visit www.sportrelief.com/donate/walliams.

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