Gervais in celebrity boxing bout

Ricky Gervais has confirmed that he will face Anthea Turner's husband Grant Bovey in a boxing bout.

The winner of the contest, the first in BBC2's new celebrity boxing programme, The Fight, will earn a £5,000 purse for charity.

The pair will undergo intensive training for a month in secret gyms in the South East under the wings of some of British boxing's finest trainers.

Promoter Frank Moloney, the man who brought Lennox Lewis to fame, will train Gervais, while former champ Jim Macdonnell will coach Bovey.

Ricky, 41, said: "Charity boxing appealed to me - pain and suffering to stop pain and suffering.

"Next year I'm getting involved in a new reality gameshow - celebrity hanging. I've always wanted to put pro-celebrity boxing on the small screen - Frank Bruno versus Frank Bough.

"On a serious note, I can't believe my luck - a month of training with the best professionals in the game. They've got their work cut out."

Bovey said: "It's strange going into training knowing that you're eventually going to get thumped in front of millions of people.

"But then when else would you get the opportunity to get into the psyche of a professional boxer? It's a fascinating proposition and I can't wait to get stuck in."

Bob Mortimer, who beat Les Dennis in a Sport Relief fight earlier in the year, will present the show.

He says taking part in the original fight was one of the finest moments of his life: "It's amazing how fit I became. The whole effort has changed the way I look at myself and look at the sport. And it's given me the uptmost respect for boxers."

Executive Producer Lisa Clark says: "The fight between Bob and Les on Sport Relief was compelling and it got a fantastic reaction from viewers.

"This programme will have an added dimension because a large part will follow these fishes out of water as they prepare for the biggest challenge of their lives.

"So we'll get a fascinating - and very amusing - insight into their lifestyles and personalities."

* Ricky Gervais is a guest on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on BBC1 at 10.35pm tomorrow (November 8).

Published: 7 Nov 2002