Celebrity Varsity
It has emerged that the BBC is producing an alternative boat race, featuring celebrities who attended Oxford and Cambridge.
A BBC insider confirmed to The OxStu that the programme, currently in pre-production, will be screened on BBC1 on 27th March, the night before the actual boat race, and is being produced under the working title 'The Other Boat Race'.
The source told The OxStu that Oxford will be represented by, among others, Jonathan Aitken, author and broadcaster Toby Young, and Sky News presenter Anna Botting.
Cambridge have at their disposal Olympic gold medal winning modern pentathlete Stephanie Cook, and Dead Ringer Jan Ravens.
The novice rowers will be trained by a team overseen by five-times Olympic champion Steve Redgrave, and including Olympic gold medallists Tim Foster and Greg Searle, and will row "a small part of the Putney to Hammersmith course".
Before they get on the water, the alumni will undergo a strenuous 'bootcamp' style training programme, which viewers can see in five instalments on BBC3, in the week preceding the race.
Rest assured your OxStu will keep you updated on Oxford's progress.
12th Feb 2004