James Argent jokes about his body fat after 'failing to swim the Channel' despite dramatic weight loss

11 September 2019, 08:29 | Updated: 11 September 2019, 08:34

James Argent joked he wore Speedos in the freezing waters because he’s ‘got enough body fat’.

James Argent recently took on the mammoth challenge of swimming the English Channel all in aid of Stand Up To Cancer. 

Along with the likes of Sair Khan, Wes Nelson and Simon Webbe, 12 stars were filming the challenge of Channel 4's Sink or Swim, as they took it in turns to swim hour-long shifts.

But while most of the celebs donned wetsuits as they dove into the freezing temperatures of the Channel, TOWIE star Arg decided to wear just a pair of Speedos instead. 

When fans questioned why the 31-year-old refused to get into a wetsuit on Twitter, he got very honest about his weight. 

Replying to one follower on Twitter, Arg joked: “Because I look ridiculous in one & when I tried it took me and hour to get it on! I’ve got enough body fat. To keep me warm.”

Read More: James Argent stuns fans with incredible weight loss as he swims the English Channel in Speedos

Arg has been very honest about his weight loss recently, admitting he was “the heaviest he’s ever been” before joining the Sink Or Swim challenge. 

Sport scientist Dr Greg White examined him for the show, explained: "He's morbidly obese.

"Almost half of his bodyweight is composed of fat and a lot of that fat is around the organs. Very bad in terms of long-term outcome."

Read More: Gemma Collins blames Arg's weight gain for ruining their sex life

But speaking about his new-found passion for swimming, Arg has since revealed the weight has just been dropping off him and he’s said to have lost up to three stone. 

This comes after reports the celebs failed to complete the entire swim earlier this week and had to be rescued by an SOS operation.

According to The Sun, due to bad weather conditions it became too dangerous so they were taken out of the water into rescue boats.

An insider told the publication: "Everyone is devastated because they worked so hard.

"It was very emotional but they should all be so proud of themselves especially as it was for such a brilliant cause."

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A post shared by James "Arg" Argent (@real_arg) on Aug 13, 2019 at 11:29am PDT

But despite the reports, Arg’s girlfriend Gemma Collins, 38, appeared on Lorraine yesterday claiming they HAD completed the challenge.

 She said: "He's good. I'm so proud of him, he called me at 5.30 this morning. They've swum the channel. I can't tell you what happened because the show is out next week.

"He swum last night at 10 o'clock for an hour and he swum again this morning. He's been doing it for 12 weeks, he's done amazing.

"Actually, I am very proud of him."