News

Comic Relief's celebrity climbers jetted out to Tanzania tonight to embark on the first leg of The BT Red Nose Climb up Mount Kilimanjaro! The group is undertaking the climb of a lifetime to raise a mountain of cash for Red Nose Day 2009.

The A-list celebrities, comprising Cheryl Cole, Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen, Fearne Cotton, Gary Barlow, Kimberley Walsh and Ronan Keating, boarded a Kenya Airways flight from Heathrow Terminal 4 for the eight and a half hour journey to Africa. Alesha Dixon and Ben Shephard flew out ahead of the other climbers to see how Comic Relief money is being spent in Tanzania to help change lives there.

Gary, who sat next to Chris in seats 3D and 3E respectively, said "We've been planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for so long, it's only now that we're boarding the plane that it's really dawned on me just how tough this could be! Worse still I've drawn the short straw so I get to sit next to Moyles for nearly nine hours!"

Meanwhile Kimberley in seat 3B, sat next to Cheryl in 3A, said "I'm really excited but also really nervous now we're finally jetting out. Hopefully all our training will have paid off, and my recent foot trouble won't stop me reaching the summit and raising lots of money for Comic Relief!"

Mount Kilimanjaro stands at a whopping 19,340 feet above sea level; is the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. It will take the celebrity climbers an exhausting 8-day trek to reach the summit and they're going to need all the help they can get!

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