A STUDENT'S attempts to bluff his way into the company of the Hollywood elite has won him top honours.

Paul Elliott spent months trying to pass himself off as a professional film reviewer for a documentary called Mock Critic.

The piece, which was broadcast on Sunderland University's in-house radio station, Utopia FM, won best documentary at the BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Awards.

Mr Elliott, 24, who is studying for a masters degree at Sunderland, said: "I wanted to see how far you could get in the profession by bluffing. I hoped to get into premieres. I actually interviewed Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson at the premiere of Starsky and Hutch."

His fellow masters students at Sunderland, Sarah Urban and Matt Horne, picked up a bronze award in the same category,

Unlucky in Love was about 21-year-old Miss Urban's attempt to find love through speed dating.

She said: "I recorded conversations I had during one night and took them to a psychologist, who told me where he felt I was going wrong. He made some very interesting points."

Utopia FM also won a silver gong for its marketing campaign.

Caroline Mitchell, principal lecturer in radio at the university, said: "We are delighted. What's very pleasing is the gold and bronze awards were in a very competitive category.

"We take documentary and feature-making very seriously. The awards not only show what excellent students we have, but also the high calibre of teaching at Sunderland."

Utopia is on air twice a year for a week and online 24 hours a day, playing music and news and offering advice and information for students.

Graduates from its studio include Galaxy FM's breakfast presenter Karen Wight.