Walliams 'humbled to carry torch'

Comedian David Walliams was one of a host of celebrities parading the Olympic flame through the streets of London and past some of the capital's most famous landmarks on the eve of the Games.

The torch also passed through the grounds of Buckingham Palace, witnessed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, as well as Trafalgar Square, Downing Street and the West End a day before its 70-day, 8,000-mile journey comes to a close.

Little Britain comedian and charity fundraiser Walliams carried the flame at around 8.30am outside Islington Town Hall, as it made its way towards St Paul's Cathedral.

Walliams said: "I felt really humbled to be a part of it. This torch and this flame is bigger than anybody out there and there's something about the spirit and I really got a sense of that running along. You can't really get lost on Upper Street and I had a wonderful response. I was thrilled to be asked to do it, especially so near to the Olympics starting."

The 40-year-old, whose fundraising feats include swimming the English Channel, the River Thames and the Straits of Gibraltar, added: "I'm not a natural runner but it's much easier to run and wave than swim and wave. When I was swimming the Thames there were people lining the banks so I had to stop to wave to them and it slowed me down."

The torch's journey began shortly before 7am with Clive Woodward, Team GB's deputy chef de mission and manager of the England 2003 World Cup Rugby winners, starting the relay from the Roundhouse in Camden.

Scout volunteer Jon Sayer will have the honour of carrying the flame to the gates of the Queen's official London home, when he will meet the Duchess.

Mr Sayer, from Todmorden in West Yorkshire, is one of three volunteers helping to carry the Olympic flame through the palace the day before the Queen officially opens the Games.

Elsewhere in the capital, celebrities including rugby heroes Lawrence Dallaglio and Lewis Moody and actress Joanna Lumley carried the flame.

Lumley and Absolutely Fabulous co-star Jennifer Saunders shared torch-carrying duties as it passed through Sloane Square. The pair smiled and waved to the hundreds of spectators who lined the route to cheer them on, as they completed the leg in a quick walk.