'Big Brother' presenter Davina McCall has reassured her fans that she is "completely fine" after suffering difficulties during her 1.5mile swim in a very cold Lake Windermere yesterday, where the water temperature was around 5ºC.
McCall, 46, is taking on a seven-day, 500mile swim/bike/run journey from Edinburgh to London as part of this year's Sport Relief charity fundraiser. Despite needing considerable assistance out of the water after finishing her swim, the TV presenter later told fans on Twitter:
I'm ok. That was hairy. Thank you for all your support. I'm about to get on a bike . @sportrelief thank you again
— Davina McCall (@ThisisDavina) February 10, 2014She then set off for the rest of yesterday's journey, a 65mile cycle ride from Windermere to Accrington in Lancashire. Before she saddled up she told the gathered crowd: "I’m completely fine, I was just cold! I’ve warmed up now, I’ve had a nice bath and I’m ready to get on the bike."
McCall was accompanied throughout the swim by Sport Relief challenge trainer Professor Greg Whyte. "One thing Greg told me that was pulling me through was to think of the building ahead of us as a magnet, drawing us towards it," she said after finishing.
Other celebrities to take on gruelling Sport Relief challenges in recent years include comedian David Walliams, who swam the length of the river Thames in 2011 (picking up stomach bugs in the process), and fellow funnyman John Bishop, who undertook an epic running challenge from Paris to London the following year.
Davina can be sponsored for this year's Sport Relief at www.sportrelief.com/donate/davina.
Do you think the swim in Lake Windermere was too gruelling a task? Let us know in the comments below!