TV host back in One piece after Channel water-skiing ordeal

The One Show presenter finished her feat in one hour and 40 minutes, with a few bumps, bruises and splashes as she fell in the sea en route.

Christine, who swapped her usual polished glamour for a black head-to-toe wetsuit and red lifejacket, had been repeatedly delayed because of poor weather.

But she finally got the go-ahead at 7.46am yesterday to set off from Dover.

Her arrival on the French side was announced on Twitter from the support team, who said: "She has made it."

Chrstine arrived in France under grey skies after falling into the water eight times during her 21-mile trip.

The journey, in which she battled against choppy waters and dodged tankers in the world's busiest shipping lane, raised thousands of pounds for Sport Relief.

TV favourite Christine, who was supported by co-host Adrian Chiles, encouraging her by loudhailer from the support boat, had to brave miserable temperatures of just 5C, with a wind chill below freezing.

Christine, who says she is scared of water because of a childhood swimming pool accident, was moved to undertake the challenge following a trip to Uganda with Sport Relief in 2008, where she met young people struggling with tough lives.

As she set off from the beach at Dover yesterday, she declared: "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, who managed to raise a smile during the challenge, was put through months of gruelling training by Professor Greg Whyte but struggled to stay upright in the choppy waters. The journey saw her hanging on to the rope while she was dragged at about 20mph.

Christine urged members of the public to donate what they could to www.sportrelief.com/christine.