Freddie Flintoff, John Bishop, Denise Lewis and Davina McCall arrive at Dover Marina at the end of their Channel crossing.

Photo by Paul Wells

by Graham Tutthill

gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

Four celebrities rowed into Dover on Tuesday after an eight-hour Channel crossing as part of a Sport Relief fund-raising challenge.

On Monday, Liverpool comedian John Bishop had ridden the 185 miles from Paris to Calais where he teamed up with television personality Davina McCall, athlete Denise Lewis and cricketer Freddie Flintoff to row across the Channel.

They set off at 9.37am and headed down the Channel towards Wissant to start with, so that they could catch the tide which would help them back up and across the busy shipping lanes to Dover Harbour.

John was said to be exhausted during the crossing.

They landed at the Marina, next to Dover Lifeboat, eight hours later, at 5.38pm and went to the Dover Sea Sports Centre for a reception.

This morning, John Bishop set off on the final stage of his challenge, running the distance of three marathons to London. He was joined by television presenter Dermot O'Leary at Shepherdswell.

John is due to arrive at BBC television centre on Friday evening.

Comedian John Bishop still manages a smile as he comes ashore at Dover, despite being exhausted. Photo by Paul Wells.