Celebrities

Christine Lampard Shares the Terrifying TV Challenge That Nearly Broke Her and It Was All Caught on Camera

Published on July 16, 2025

Christine Lampard has been a familiar face on our screens for years now, but even seasoned TV pros have moments they’ll never forget — for all the wrong reasons. And for Christine, one such moment came back in 2010 when she signed up to water ski across the English Channel. Yes, seriously.

Chatting with her Loose Women co-stars Gloria Hunniford, Janet Street-Porter and Coleen Nolan, Christine looked back on what she now calls the “most distressing” experience of her life — and no, it wasn’t anything to do with live telly slip-ups or wardrobe malfunctions. It was, unbelievably, strapping herself into a wetsuit and clinging to a pair of skis across 22 freezing miles of open water, all in the name of charity.

Looking at an old picture from the challenge, Christine winced and said, “That was water-skiing for Sport Relief. We were there raising money for Sport Relief. Talking about wetsuits, oh my God, that was horrific”, reported the Mirror.

The panel were discussing ITV’s new reality series Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters, which follows celebrities like Dougie Poynter, Helen George and Lucy Punch as they push their limits and face some pretty terrifying aquatic challenges. That brought Christine right back to her own version of hell on water.

She admitted she had absolutely no experience on skis before attempting the massive feat, and had gone into it all thinking it’d be a bit like a jolly ski trip. “I had never water-skied before so, just like the shark program, it was completely beginning from scratch,” she said. “I had never, ever done it before and I foolishly thought about people doing it on holiday where it looks lovely!”

With a support boat trailing behind in case things went horribly wrong, Christine somehow powered through and made it to the other side. And while she ended up raising over £1 million for Sport Relief, she’s under no illusions about how hard it was. “It was physically the most distressing thing I think I will ever do,” she admitted. “Hugely worth it with the money that was raised, it was a lot of money but it took a lot of training, a lot of work, a lot of support.”

Christine, who shares two children — Patricia, six, and four-year-old Freddie — with football legend Frank Lampard, said she used to be someone who’d leap at the chance to do anything a bit mad. “I was like the rollercoaster girl, I was like ‘I’ll go…’” she laughed.

But these days, that thrill-seeking spirit has well and truly faded. “Now, absolutely not. No, no, no. The fear has kicked in since I’ve gotten older, and definitely since having children,” she confessed. “With the Channel, the box has been ticked. But I do appreciate people giving things a go when they are fearful of something.”

It’s fair to say Christine’s earned her stripes when it comes to daring telly moments — and it doesn’t sound like she’ll be rushing to top that any time soon.

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