"Little Britain" star in bid to swim Channel

LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) David Walliams, star of comedy television show ''Little Britain,'' has said he will swim the English Channel to raise money for charity -- but believes he only has a 50 per cent chance of success.

Walliams plans to undertake the 21-mile swim from Britain to France in aid of Sports Relief.

''I wanted to do something dramatic for Sports Relief, but hadn't really thought through how hard it would be when I agreed to do it,'' Walliams, 34, told BBC television yesterday.

''So I agreed to do it, and it was two years away, and I thought 'great, that will be fun'. Now it's a month away and I'm very scared.'' Walliams has trained rigorously over the past 11 months, swimming in pools, lakes and the sea under the guidance of former Olympic pentathlete Greg Whyte.

''I think I have a 50-50 chance of getting across, but I hope people see it as a kind of symbolic thing of like 'he's having a go' and 'he's going to do his best.''' The actor hopes to complete the swim in under 16 hours.

Less than 10 per cent of people who have tried to swim the Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and frequently hit by gale force winds, have succeeded.

REUTERS SI PM0917