Sickness hits celeb Comic Relief launch?

Russell Brand and Fearne Cotton were apparently taken mysteriously ill at the launch of Red Nose Day.

The run-up to Comic Relief kicked off on Wednesday with the celebrities speaking on a Thames pleasure boat yesterday on the River Thames.

All was going well until Brand and presenter Cotton, along with Patrick Kielty and members of Girls Aloud and Sugababes, began feeling a bit queezy, reports the Daily Star.

“I’ve been hit by terrible sea-sickness," commented Brand. “They’ve given me something for it. They said it was ginger something – but it’s made me feel like Judy Garland.”

Fearne apparently told reporters: “I don’t feel at all well. I fear I’m going to vom," before leaving the stage. Sarah Harding added: “I’m all right when the boat’s bobbing up and down – it’s when it stops I feel dodgy!”

Kielty gave a more plausible explanation for his problem: “I was up until 5am celebrating my birthday. I don’t feel at all well and may well be sick.”

A source at the charity explained: “Some of the stars felt under the weather. It was lucky we didn’t go on a trip up the Thames or they’d have all been hanging over the sides. We gave some of the guests some tablets and ginger tea to try and settle their stomachs.”