Lancashire radio & TV star Jordan North was rescued from the Thames last night

The 34-year-old Capital FM presenter, who grew up in Burnley before moving to Preston, was out for a run when he entered the water from a pontoon near Hammersmith Bridge to help a labrador which was struggling to get back on dry land, before eventually "starting to get panicky" himself.

A member of the public spotted the two and called the RNLI just after 5pm on Monday , before a crew from RNLI Chiswick arrived shortly after, and were guided to Jordan by passers-by who used their phones to light the way to him.

The former I’m a Celebrity star was found sitting on a nearby float lift with the dog.

Speaking on Capital Breakfast, Jordan 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 real heroes here are the RNLI who came out and got me, put a blanket round me. They're the heroes."

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RNLI Thames commander Gavin Simmons added: "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."

It comes as the RNLI runs its annual Christmas fundraising appeal, with staff launching an average of 100 times during the festive period.

During his time on series 20 of the ITV reality show in 2020 North finished runner-up behind winner CBeebies presenter Giovanna Fletcher . He has also co-presented Christmas and New Year's Day editions of Top Of The Pops and hosted lunchtime and drivetime shows on BBC Radio 1.