British comedian John Bishop is about to have one incredibly tough week as he takes on The BT Sport Relief Challenge: Bishop’s Week Of Hell – the second in a series of celebrity challenges sponsored by BT for Sport Relief 2012. Starting on Monday 27th February, it will be the most physically gruelling test of John’s life as he attempts to cycle, row and run over 290 punishing miles from Paris to London in just five days.
John will start the first leg of his challenge by the Eiffel Tower in Paris and will cycle over 185 torturous miles to the coast in less than 24 hours. For the second leg, John is hoping to row from mainland Europe to the UK – an ambitious task for anyone let alone someone who suffers with bad seasickness. To help John navigate the choppy waters and battle the waves he will be joined by a team of celebrity rowers including Andrew Flintoff, Davina McCall and Denise Lewis.
If all that wasn’t enough the final stage of this epic triathlon will see John take on three exhausting marathons in just three days, finishing in Trafalgar Square in London on Friday 2nd March. When John is on his last legs, celebrity mates including Dermot O'Leary, Frank Skinner and Robbie Savage will provide much needed motivation when they run alongside him.
John’s one ordinary bloke on one extraordinary mission and he needs all the support he can get; sponsor him now at sportrelief.com/bishop. In addition BT will be donating money from phone calls made on ‘Buzz for Bishop Day’ on Thursday 1st March.
John hopes to raise enough money, not only to pay for a vaccine against five deadly diseases for 250,000 children in Africa, but also help people living incredibly tough lives in the UK.
Every year, almost two million children in Africa die from diseases that can be prevented by simple vaccines. Pentavalent is one such vaccine. It costs just £5 and protects against five deadly diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus, which can cause meningitis and pneumonia.
John said: “I must be mad. I’m a man in my mid 40s, a bit thicker round the middle than I’d like to be and I’m about to take on the biggest physical challenge of my life. Up until a few weeks ago I’d never even sat in a rowing boat and now I’ve got miles of water to cover, then there’s the cycle and don’t even mention the word marathon to me. I know there will be times during the challenge when I’ll be freezing cold and fed up but when I’m down I will think back to the people I met in Sierra Leone earlier this year and I’ll know every penny I raise really will make a massive difference to people’s lives.”
All the ups and downs from John’s challenge will be captured for a BBC documentary, to be broadcast in the build up to the Sport Relief Weekend, which is taking place from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th March.
For Sport Relief 2012 BT has pledged £1 million and is doing more than ever to help change lives by sponsoring The BT Sport Relief Challenges – a series of tough endurance feats. In September 2011, David Walliams kicked off the celebrity challenges with an epic splash when he completed The BT Sport Relief Challenge: Walliams vs The Thames. Now comedian John Bishop is taking on the biggest physical test of his life, The BT Sport Relief Challenge: Bishop’s Week of Hell. From the nonstop cycle relay in 2010, to Red Nose Day’s 2009 Kilimanjaro climb and last year’s Red Nose desert trek through Kenya, BT has always gone the extra mile to make a massive difference.
To help John stay motivated throughout the challenge, BT is declaring ‘Buzz for Bishop Day’ on Thursday 1st March. On behalf of its customers, BT will donate 1p to Sport Relief for every call made from a BT home phone line, BT business line as well as every call made from a BT payphone. Plus they’ll donate 25p for every call to BT’s Directory Enquiry Service 118500 from any landline or mobile.
For more information or to go the extra mile for Sport Relief 2012, just like John, you can enter the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile today at sportrelief.com.
