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

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

"I recorded conversations I had during one night and took them to a psychologist, who told me where he felt I was going wrong," she said. "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 the latest music and news, as well as offering advice and information for students.

Graduates from its studio include Galaxy FM's breakfast presenter, Karen Wight and MTV's TRL producer James Longman.