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Gary Barlow hires private jet to fly weary Kilimanjaro trekkers home

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Special feature on the Comic Relief team's feat

Still buzzing from the enormous achievement of conquering the 19,000ft peak of Kilimanjaro, there was a special surprise in store for Cheryl Cole and the rest of the celebrity fundraising team. Take That star Gary Barlow delighted the weary trekkers by chartering a a special plane to take them home from Africa.

The nine team members, who included TV presenter Ben Shepherd, Denise Van Outen and Boyzone singer Ronan Keating, received a heroes' welcome when they touched down in at RAF Northolt in West London on Monday.

They had expected to return on a scheduled passenger flight, but Gary decided they deserved a treat and splashed out £50,000 to hire the private jet. "Everyone was shattered after the climb and not looking forward to the long flight," says a source. "So Gary decided to surprise them. A chartered jet from Africa doesn't come cheap, but Gary was happy to pay the money."

"To be back in a warm room in the UK is brilliant," said Gary, as the red nose-wearing team gathered to talk about the trip. "It's brilliant to be back," agreed Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, who was visibly slimmer than when he left the UK for the expedition.

Recounting their aches and pains as they travelled home, Chris' radio colleague Fearne Cotton said: "walking to the toilet was sheer agony". But TV presenter Ben added: "The fact that we had a toilet on the plane was just such a luxury."

The celebrity team, which raised a whopping £1.5 million for Comic Relief during their climb, will meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street on Thursday. A documentary about their trip will be shown on TV the same night.

Photo: Getty Images
They had expected to return on a scheduled passenger flight but Gary decided they deserved a treat and splashed out £50,000 to hire a private jet. The group raised a staggering £1.5 million for Comic Relief with their climb
Photo: Getty Images
It was the end of a long journey as the jubilant star climbers, who included Ben Shepherd and Boyzone star Ronan Keating, touched down at RAF Northolt in West London on Monday