BB FANS

Take 11 of football's most legendary players, 11 celebrities with more than a keen interest in the beautiful game, Newcastle's St James's Park and a host of television cameras.

Broadcast the whole thing live to the nation and what have you got?

A match made in heaven - or on Tyneside to be exact - is what the company behind Big Brother and Fame Academy are going to be producing this autumn - direct from the hallowed turf treaded by Newcastle United.

For seven days, the squad - who have yet to be selected - will be put through their paces at the NUFC academy in Benton, North Tyneside.

Under the watchful eyes of an internationally renowned professional football manager and full time professional coaching staff, the celebrity squad will be seen living together and undergoing a week of intensive training in preparation for the game.

Cameras will capture every minute of every day as the squad are trained and disciplined in all aspects of fitness and skill using the Academy's state-of-the-art facilities.

Every night, a one-hour prime time programme will show edited highlights of the training sessions and will place three squad members, who the manager believes have not been pulling their weight, up for eviction - decided by a public vote.

By the end of the week, a 11-strong starting line-up will be selected to go up against Legends XI - a team made up of former stars - in a live charity cup final to be broadcast on Sky Sports.

The Match will begin on Sky One on October 3 with a 90-minute live launch programme, followed by six one-hour live primetime shows from Monday to Saturday.

The event will culminate on Sunday, October 10, with the big match live from 7pm.

Throughout the week there will also be up to 18 hours a day of live streaming of all the action, injuries and squad gossip from the celebrity camp.