Jordan North rescued from Thames after trying to save struggling dog

Watch: Jordan North gets rescued from the Thames by the RNLI

I'm a Celebrity star and radio presenter Jordan North was rescued from the Thames on Monday when he was trying to help a struggling labrador.

The radio presenter hailed the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) as "heroes" for rescuing him and the dog after he began to get "nervy" while on a float with the dog.

Speaking on Capital Breakfast North said: "A big thank you and a massive shout out to RNLI Chiswick who came and rescued me because I was getting a bit panicky. 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 astonishing moment the star was rescued was captured on body camera footage from RNLI crew members. North could be seen getting out of a boat after he was saved from the Thames in the footage shared by the RNLI.

North — who was the runner-up on I'm a Celebrity in 2020 — said: "The real heroes here are the RNLI who came out and got me, put a blanket round me. They're the heroes."

What happened?

The alarm was raised by a member of the public at 5.05pm on Monday. When the RNLI crew reached the location near Hammersmith Bridge in just three minutes, people nearby held up their phones to try and light up the area to help them find North.

North was discovered sat on a nearby float with the dog on his lap. He had spotted the dog drowning while on a run and had intervened to help. "I was on a run," he told the crew when getting off the boat.

The Thames Commander has reassured the public they are on call to help — even when it comes to pets.

Thames Commander Gavin Simmons 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."

The RNLI is currently running its annual Christmas fundraising appeal. Simmons is one of the staffers who will be on the shift overnight at Chiswick Lifeboat Station from 23-27 December.

What did Jordan North say?

Later on Capital Breakfast, North revealed how he come across the dog that was drowning. He said: "I go for a run. And there's this woman who's looking a bit distressed, okay. And then there's loads of people, like, looking over the edge of the river where it is, and there's a dog struggling in the water. So there's like, and it's really low down, and there's this dog that's like, basically drowning."

Jumping into action, North headed down to the jetties where the dog was in the water and he tried to help the Labrador. He said: "I’m trying to grab the dog at the end of the jetty, I’ve got my phone flashing. I'm going 'here boy, here boy, here boy, come on, here boy'. And he's trying to get to me, this dog, right? And every time I can just about grab him, the current's taking him. I'm going, I can't go in. Cannot go in."

While on the float, he initially managed to grab the dog by the collar but the animal fell back into the water. Then he got hold of the dog again but now they have begun floating in the middle of the Thames.

"The dog's panting and crying," he said. "So I've got him, and perfect. Then I've got him, and the dog's panting and crying, and I've managed to pull him up... The dog's legs have gone, so he can't get up, because he's so tired, so tired, he's been fighting this current for about 10 minutes. Oh, he's panting, and I’m kind of going, 'It's all right, it's all right.' So then we can't get off this thing that I'm floating on in the middle of the Thames."

North admitted he started to get worried he was going to fall in because his legs had gone "dead". The presenter called out for help and those watching alerted the coast guard. When the crew couldn't find them, everyone held up their phones to light the way. "It was like a Coldplay gig."

Of the moment they were rescued, North said: "The dog [was] scared because he's worried about going in. So I'm trying to push, push the dog in, finally, get the dog in the little boat. Then I'm stuck, so I've got to, like, balance and get back on the big boat, if this is making any sense at all.

"And I get on, and the woman goes, 'Oh, my God, oh my god!' I'm like, 'What? What? What is it unsafe? What?' She was like, 'Oh my god I listen to your podcast all the time!'"

Who is Jordan North?

Radio presenter North shot to fame on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here in the castle series set in Wales in 2020, where he came second to Giovanni Fletcher.

During his time on the show, he battled many of the grisly I'm a Celebrity bushtucker trials. He found his way of coping by going to his "happy place" in his mind — which the football fan revealed was Turf Moor, Burnley FC's stadium.

After the show, he revealed he was a last-minute replacement for the show. He said: "I was last minute. I got a call to say, 'Not this year, maybe next year,' and I thought, 'Oh right okay, still fantastic, it's a show I love,' then I got a call two weeks later saying, 'Do you want to do it? Someone's dropped out."

He added: "I was like, 'Erm, yeah alright.' Then I had two days to do everything, a medical, a psychiatry test, filming, I did it all in 48 hours. So it very nearly never happened."

In February this year, North left his job on BBC Radio 1. He has been hosting Capital Breakfast since April this year, taking over from Roman Kemp.

He said of the move: "I am beyond excited to be joining Global and to wake up the nation every morning on Capital — I can't wait to start working with the amazing team here and get stuck in, to create the most fun and entertaining breakfast show. Getting to host Capital Breakfast has always been a dream of mine and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I simply couldn’t turn down."

There are many ways to support the RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews this Christmas. To find out more, please visit RNLI.org/WinterAppeal

Listen to Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby weekdays from 6am – 10am across the UK and on Global Player.