A RADIO station put the hitch in ‘hitched’ as the splicing of two strangers touted as a wedding turned out not to be legally binding.

JackFM and Glide listeners Robert Kitson and Justine Oakley ‘tied the knot’ at the Oxford Castle Malmaison Hotel yesterday, having only seen each other’s faces moments earlier.

But Oxfordshire’s Superintendent Registrar Alicja Gilroy said the “2 Strangers & A Wedding” was a “commitment ceremony and not a real marriage”.

She added: “One is a legal commitment and one isn’t. This wasn’t a legal ceremony today.”

The £30,000 event was the culmination of the stations’ ‘social experiment’ to find out if love really is blind, by not letting the couple see each other before their big day.

The couple previously had a 150-minute date, separated by a curtain.

Mr Kitson, 30, from Oxford, said: “I wouldn’t have gone through with it, to be fair, if it was 100 per cent legally binding, that’s because it’s just such a unique thing we are doing.

“From what I can gather she was aware it was all 100 per cent then realised it wasn’t legal.”

He added: “It’s not the full thing but who knows something good won’t come from it?

“We’ve both said it’s like an extreme first date and then we get to know each other.”

Asked what she would tell cynics, Miss Oakley, 35, from Littlemore, said: “It’s not traditional but why not? I’m the kind of person who would go for it.

“Why risk it not working when there’s a good chance of it working? I would like it to work out and prove them all wrong.”

Asked what she thought when the masks dropped, Miss Oakley said: “It was nice, a pleasant relief.” Mr Kitson added: “I didn’t want to think what anybody would look like, the whole thing was based on personality, not looks. That was my whole ethos and still is.”

He added his family did not approve of his involvement, but the couple’s guests cheered and applauded as the pair kissed for the first time.

Jonathan Russell, of Witney’s ReesRussell accountants, threatened to stop on-air advertising when the event was announced, but came to embrace the idea.

He said: “I was very, very worried about the whole concept, really making a mockery of marriage and relationships.

“But having seen it I like the concept of using the radio as a means for people to meet. I think it’s been managed so well.

“Had it been a wedding I would have had some worries. Nobody knew that it wasn’t and based on that you might well have had people seeing it as a prize and not worry about the onward commitment. I think they thought it was a commitment.”

Ian Walker, general manager of the stations, said: “It was a social experiment and we didn’t know what the outcome would be, but today everyone is very happy and the bride and groom are getting on very well.

“I think we had to be very transparent, making sure both people were happy. A commitment ceremony is like a civil partnership, a binding agreement between two people.

“They both consented to continue after the masks were taken down and we hope that they will continue to enjoy their day.

“The proof of the pudding will be in the honeymoon.”

The couple will jet off next week on honeymoon to Majorca, where they will have separate bedrooms, before continuing to live separately in Oxford.