Maidenhead rower profiled in BBC drama ahead of Olympics

A TV drama focusing on Maidenhead Rowing Club legend Bert Bushnell and his rowing partner Richard 'Dickie' Burnell is set to air on BBC1 tonight.

Bert and Dickie tells the story of the two double sculls competitors who won gold in the 1948 Olympic games. Both men have links with the River Road-based club.

Bushnell, who is played by Doctor Who star Matt Smith, was a member of the club when he competed in the games and first raced in the Maidenhead Regatta in 1939. He would go on to run Bushnell's Boatyard on Ray Mead Road.

The Oxford-based Burnell would also go on to become president of the club in later life.

Burnell and Bushnell died in 1995 and 2010 respectively.

The programme will air at 8.30pm as part of the BBC's Olympics build-up.