Water-ski triumph for Bleakley (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Water-ski triumph for Bleakley

9:39am Friday 12th March 2010 in

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Christine Bleakley has completed her challenge to water-ski across the English Channel for Sport Relief.

The One Show presenter set off from the shores of Dover clad in a black head-to-toe wetsuit and red life jacket.

She aimed to complete the challenge in just over an hour, hanging on at about 20mph for the choppy 21-mile stretch to France - across the world's busiest shipping lane.

Speaking just before she set off, Bleakley said: "I've talked about it, I've trained for it. Now I've got to do it."

She fell several times at the start of the crossing and at one point had to wait for a huge tanker to cross her path. The presenter was put through months of gruelling training by Professor Greg Whyte but struggled to stay upright in the choppy waters. Temperatures are a miserable 5C with the wind chill below freezing.

Bleakley was moved to undertake the challenge following a trip to Uganda with Sport Relief in 2008, where she met young people who are living tough lives.

Speaking before the challenge, she said: "It's so easy to come home from a trip like that and forget about what you've seen and keep going about your everyday life.

"I didn't want to do that. I'll never forget the people that I met and I want to do something to help them. Please support me by making a donation as it really will help change lives."

Footage of her challenge can be seen on The One Show on Friday night.

People can log on to www.sportrelief.com/christine to make a donation.