Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips are to star in a reality TV show dubbed Hip Hop Idol.

The three football stars will search the country for Britain's best young MC reports The Sun.

Rio, 27, his Man United team-mate Wayne, 20, and Chelsea's Shaun, 24, came up with the idea for the show after watching Eminem movie 8 Mile.

According to The Sun a source said: "They thought it would be great to use their high profile to help find new UK talent on a face-off rap show."

Contestants will go head-to-head on stage in front of a panel of judges.

TV channels are now locked in a bidding war for the series, set to be shown in November.