IN honour of the finest rowers from Oxford and Cambridge who took to the waters of The River Thames yesterday for the annual Boat Race, a host of celebrities, including Vernon Kay, also donned the lycra.

They vowed to impress with their rowing skills, all in the name of charity.

A mixture of 16 celebrities and some athletes made up Team Redgrave and Team Cracknell. They had been coached by legendary Olympians Sir Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell and went all out for Cancer Research UK.

Ex-Olympian Helen Glover, in the purple colours of Team Redgrave, was joined by the likes of television presenter Dan Walker and comedian Mark Watson.

In the pink colours of Team Cracknell, Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington was joined by broadcaster Sophie Raworth and Vernon Kay. Although it was uncharted waters for many, the eight-men teams, which began training before Christmas, pulled through their gruelling schedule and were able to put on a good show.

In the replica route from Putney to Hammersmith, it was the pink team who started strongest, before the purple of Team Redgrave pulled through for the narrowest of wins.

“I blame my broken rigging,” tweeted Vernon, after the defeat, which his team shared with the Cambridge University team.

Aired yesterday on BBC1 at 4pm, highlights can be found on BBC iPlayer.