These Guys are Summit Special

Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh and the gang are out of the starting blocks and have completed the first day of eight on the gruelling trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Gary Barlow is the chap in charge of sending daily updates back to the press. The first days progress, along with a few photographs was sent back and released today. The Take That star has complained that his back is still playing up, after injuring himself only a week before the climb for Comic Relief was due to begin, but he is soldiering on with a little bit of help from his fellow climbers.

The group left ‘base camp’ yesterday morning for the first leg of their trek – they are being careful to avoid heaps of elephant dung and ants’ nests in the rain forest. They could only walk for four hours due to high temperatures and tricky terrain.

Gary said: “Across Africa malaria kills more children than any other disease, with 3,000 youngsters being taken by it every day. One of the biggest reasons for this is people can’t afford the simple nets that would offer them and their kids protection. The cost of supplying a net to a family and educating them on the importance of using it is just £5. All of us who are taking on this climb want, with the publics help, to give as many families as possible the chance to protect themselves.”

Of the girls, Denise Van Outen is probably best prepared, she has been training for almost nine months. The Girls Aloud babes, Cheryl Cole and Kimberley Walsh face the biggest challenge. Kimberley has been getting pain-killing injections in her feet and Cheryl is struggling with blisters.

If all the team make it to Uhuru Peak they will have reason to celebrate. But with all their aches and pains in the early stages, the odds are against them…