Walliams completes Channel swim

The Little Britain star set off onhis 21-mile journel from Shakespeare beach in Dover at 05:31 this morning, reaching the coast of France at around 4pm.

His total time was 10hrs 34mins, compared to the 12 to 16 hours the epic crossing was expeceted to take.

Walliams' efforts have raised more than £380,000 for Sport Relief. He hopes, eventually, to top £500,000.

Walliams, 34, told Radio One: 'I thought it was going to take me about 14 hours - well, if I was going to get there. I feel relieved because we needed a happy ending to this story. I feel it's taken the sting out of the World Cup.

Sport Relief spokeswoman Lucy McGill said: 'We are not sure about the exact location where he arrived in France because of the tides and currents. All we know is that it was in a 30-mile stretch of coastline.'

'He got straight back on the boat, and is now heading back to Dover

Channel Swimming Association chairman Michael Read, who has been on a boat accompanying Walliams, said the comedian had 'a wonderful swim. Conditions were good, with sea temperatures of about 18C

For more details on sponsoring him, visit the Sport Relief website.

More people have managed to climb Everest than successfully swim the Channel, and fewer than 10 per cent of those who attempt the challenge have succeeded.

Walliams’ trainer Greg Whyte said before the swim: ‘The English Channel is the blue ribbon event of endurance swimming and represents one of the toughest physical challenges on the planet.

‘David has been working tirelessly over the past 11 months, demonstrating a level of work and commitment as great as any elite athlete I have met.’

Published: 4 Jul 2006