Tim FitzHigham has gone a step further from playing with boats in the bath – he’s playing boats with the bath. The comedian, who last year broke a 400 year-old record by rowing 160 miles in a paper boat, is set to make history again by crossing the Channel in a bathtub.

The floating suite, which includes a traditional copper bath with overhead shower, was launched yesterday in Richmond, Surrey. FitzHigham, who is undertaking the voyage in aid of Sport Relief, will set off from Cap-Griz-Nez on Friday. He will then row across the Channel shipping lanes to Dover before continuing around the coast to London, aiming to reach Tower Bridge on July 9, the eve of Sport Relief Day. He then plans to row a final mile to Blackfriar’s Bridge, to emphasise the charity’s ethos of ‘always going the extra mile’.

The craft, named Lilibet II after Buckingham Palace gave the royal seal of approval to use the Queen’s childhood nickname, was designed by Douglas Hynd and built by boatbuilder Mark Edwards using a suite provided by Thomas Crapper and Co.