David Walliams starts his Thames swim in a flap over the swans

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Rob Parsons11 April 2012
The Weekender

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For the next eight days he will be dodging boats, attempting desperately to stay warm and trying to avoid swallowing a cocktail of bacteria during his epic charity swim.

But as he dived into the Thames today David Walliams revealed his biggest fear is being attacked by irate swans.

The Little Britain star, 40, started his bid to swim the 140-mile length of the Thames for Sport Relief - the equivalent of swimming the Channel seven times - at the source of the river this morning.

He told the Standard: "I was attacked by a swan in training and when I got here last night there were 30 swans. They can get territorial, when you are in the water and they head towards you hissing and flapping their wings it can be very scary.

"I suppose the cold will be hard as well. All September you think the water would be heated up through the summer but it hasn't. The water is 15 degrees rather than 20 or 25 and it really makes a difference."

Walliams's wife, Dutch model Lara Stone, saw the comedian off with a kiss in front of a large crowd of well-wishers who lined the river bank in Lechlade, Gloucestershire.

The 27-year-old, who married the star last year, plans to come to the river and lend moral support along with Walliams's mother Kathleen before he finishes at Big Ben next week.

Speaking about the attack by a swan while Walliams was training, she said: "It followed him around for 20 minutes, they are quite vicious. I was going to go on swan patrol, so I could get a big oar and protect him from the swans.

"I feel really bad leaving him all alone in this big river. I want to be there to help my husband but I will come down tonight and give him a big hug."

Walliams swam the Channel for Sport Relief in 2006, raising £1 million. He said the thought of helping relieve poverty in the UK and abroad would help keep him motivated as he swam through water with zero visibility.

He said: "I will think about pleasant things, nice songs and films. I suppose part of the struggle is mental, not just physical. I will think about the people, and that if I raise lots of money that will help."

To sponsor Walliams visit sportrelief.com

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