David Walliams raises more than a million for charity

He almost didn’t make it, but yesterday evening David Walliams arrived exhausted but happy at Westminster after swimming 140 miles down the Thames.

The comedian was struck down with “Thames Tummy” early on in the heroic sponsored swim as a result of swallowing the bacteria and sewage infested waters.

But he kept going in spite of the sickness and diarrhoea to complete the 140-mile challenge and raise £1,194,258 for Sport Relief.

Walliams was greeted by cheering crowds and his supermodel wife Lara Stone as he emerged from the waters close to Big Ben.

With a beaming smile on his face, he gave the crowds two thumbs up before he was draped in a Union Jack flag and sprayed with confetti as he was told the latest total amount raised.

The Little Britain star swam for 12 hours over eight days after setting off last Monday from Lechlade, Gloucestershire.

He expected only crowds at the start and finish but said he was surprised and encouraged to see people cheering him on along the entire route.

He joked that a bath was the only water he wanted to be stepping into for “quite a while” but added to the BBC: “I felt really proud to be British and really proud that people cared.”