Capital Radio star Jordan North had to be rescued from London’s River Thames on Monday night after he tried to save a drowning dog.
The I’m A Celeb star, 34, was running on the banks of the Thames near his West London home at around 4pm when he spotted a Labrador struggling in the water.
A member of the public raised the alarm when they spotted a ‘panicky’ Jordan struggling near Hammersmith Bridge.
A lifeboat crew were out on exercise nearby and arrived on the scene three minutes later to find Jordan sitting on a nearby float lift with the dog.
Members of the public helped out by shining phone torches on the star to help the lifeboat locate him and they quickly assisted him and the dog onto their boat.
Jordan spoke about the terrifying incident on his Capital Breakfast show on Tuesday, giving ‘a big thank you and a massive shout out to RNLI Chiswick who came and rescued me because I was getting a bit panicky.’
Capital Radio star Jordan North had to be rescued from London’s River Thames on Monday night after he tried to save a drowning dog
The I’m A Celeb star, 34, was running on the banks of the Thames near his West London home at around 4pm when he spotted a Labrador struggling in the water
‘I was getting a bit nervy as well because I thought my legs are going to go, I can’t hold on much longer so they got there just in time.’
‘The real heroes here are the RNLI who came out and got me, put a blanket round me. They’re the heroes.’
Jordan explained to his radio show co-hosts Sian Welby and Chris Stark how he came across a ‘distressed’ woman during his run who told him her dog was ‘drowning’ in the river below.
Jordan made his way to a jetty which he had to climb over a 6ft gate to reach. ‘I’m on there on my own trying to grab the dog, with my light on my phone going “here boy, here boy”.’
‘But every time I try to grab him the currents take him and I thought I can’t go in. I walked onto the buoyancy pontoon and I manage to grab the dog, he’s panting and crying. His legs have gone and he’s so tired and been fighting this current for ten minutes.’
‘We can’t get off this thing floating in the Thames, my leg has gone dead with a dog on me. Everyone is watching so I yell “can you call the coastguard please.”
‘But they can’t find me so, this was a beautiful sight, everyone put the lights on their phone.’
He added that it ‘was all such a blur’ that he couldn’t even remember the name of the dog or its owner and walked home in his soaking wet clothes.
Thames Commander Gavin Simmons, alongside crew Sid Blake, Tom Coe and Cameron Crawley were the ones who got Jordan and the dog to safety.
A member of the public raised the alarm when they spotted a ‘panicky’ Jordan struggling near Hammersmith Bridge
A lifeboat crew were out on exercise nearby and arrived on the scene three minutes later to find Jordan sitting on a nearby float lift with the dog
Gavin said: ‘We are on call to help all those who find themselves in difficulty on the water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even our beloved pets!
‘While we’d always encourage people to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard instead of entering the water themselves, we’re happy that in this instance we were able to help Jordan and the dog safely back to dry land.’
Jordan build his career at Radio 1 before his fame soared when he had a last minute call to appear in the 2020 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
The DJ finished in second place at after being drafted into the Wales-based series with just two days to go, winning a legion of fans thanks to his terrified reaction to the show’s infamous trials.
Speaking after his triumphant run on the ITV reality series Jordan told Radio 1: ‘I was last minute. I got a call to say “maybe next year not this year”, and then I got a call two weeks later saying “do you wanna do it? Someone’s dropped out.”
‘Then I had 2 days to do everything: Medical, photos, psychiatrists etc. 48 hours. It very nearly never happened,’ revealed the radio host.
Members of the public helped out by shining phone torches on the star to help the lifeboat locate him and they quickly helped him and the dog onto their boat
Jordan built his career at Radio 1 before his fame soared when he had a last minute call to appear in the 2020 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here
The DJ finished in second place at after being drafted into the Wales-based series with just two days to go, winning a legion of fans thanks to his terrified reaction to the show’s trials
Jordan also confessed to worrying a lot while in the castle: ‘Am I gonna have a career at the end of this? It was the best but the toughest three weeks of my life.
‘We were freezing, we were starving. I thought the hunger would get better but it got worse. You’re just waiting around. In the jungle you could sunbathe but you can’t in Wales. We were so bored.
Discussing the three-week whirlwind in Wales, and how he survived the myriad of trials and challenges, Jordan explained it was his brother and I’m A Celeb host Declan Donnelly whose wise words got him through.
He said of his first trial – the Viper Vault – which saw him in a coffin with snakes: ‘So, my brother’s a paratrooper. He knows when I’m like, and he said: “When you’re cold, wet or scared, go to your happy place.”
‘So I’m in this coffin full of snakes and I’m screaming: “Happy place Turf More.” I don’t know if you know but it took me an HOUR to get in. I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for Dec. I went off set.’
There are many ways to support the RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews this Christmas. To find out more, please visit RNLI.org/WinterAppeal
