Sink or Swim celebrities forced to abandon Channel swim due to bad weather

Celebrities taking part on Channel 4’s Sink or Swim were forced to abandon their Channel swim.

The new series airing on Tuesday nights saw non-swimming celebrities take to the water in support of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).

They teamed up with a group of leading figures and professionals from the world of swimming who offered vital training and support to transform them into strong swimmers, capable of taking on a series of challenges.

The ultimate goal for the group was a relay swim across the Channel between England and France.

However bad weather forced the group to be rescued just five miles shy of the coast of France.

The celebrities taking part in the show included Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie and Coronation Street star Sair Khan.

They were joined by The Last Leg’s Alex Brooker, TOWIE stars James ‘Arg’ Argent and Georgia Kousoulou, Blue singer Simon Webbe, Love Island’s Wes Nelson and Hollyoaks actress Rachel Adedeji.

Completing the line up were television presenter Diane Louise Jordan and Linford Christie’s fellow Olympic gold medallists, Tessa Sanderson and Greg Rutherford.

“The waves have got so, so bad,” Sair told cameras in the final episode of the series tonight.

As wind speeds picked up, in the water Rachel found herself making no progress towards France.

“It’s absolute carnage,” reacted Greg before adding he was “heartbroken” when safety teams declared it too risky to continue.

Speaking before attempting the swim, Arg admitted: “It’s been extremely tough, but every single week I’m improving, we all are, and we’re swimming further and further.”

Wes added of the ultimate challenge: “It’s not the distance I’m worried about, being out in the open sea, fingers crossed it will all be okay.”

Sink or Swim airs on Tuesday nights on Channel 4, straight after the new series of The Great British Bake Off.

You’ll be able to watch on TV as well as online via the All4 player.