Lost star Harold Perrineau had to take a crash swimming course during the making of the desert island drama after telling producers he couldn't swim.

The actor, who plays stranded dad Michael on the hit show, had to confess he had no swimming ability when he realised his character had to spend large amounts of time in the ocean off Hawaii, where the series is filmed.

He says, "They like to hold part of the finale as a secret and last year the secret was that our boat was gonna blow up and they were gonna take the kid (TV son Walt) and they were throw us in the water - but we didn't find out until that day. I was like, 'Hey, I can't swim!' Suddenly you see the producers all freak out. They called me back and said, 'Before the second season, maybe you should learn how to swim because you start in the water.'"

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)