OXFORD author Janie Hampton will be tuning in tonight to a TV film inspired by her book about the 1948 London Olympics.

Doctor Who actor Matt Smith is starring as an Olympic rower in the BBC film Bert & Dickie.

Written by William Ivory, the drama is set in the run-up to the 1948 games and tells the story of rowers Bertram Bushnell and Richard Burnell.

Mr Smith plays Bert while Sam Hoare plays Dickie in the 90-minute film, which is being shown on BBC1 at 8.30pm.

The story is based on Ms Hampton’s acclaimed book The Austerity Olympics, which recalls what happened when the games last came to London.

Ms Hampton, from Cowley, said: “I will definitely be watching and I think the film is a perfect way to whet people’s appetites for the 2012 Olympics.

“I took part in the filming at the Leander Club in Henley and dressed in a frumpy frock from the 1940s.

“Interest in the Oympics is growing every day and I have been inundated with interview requests.

“A journalist from New York turned up on my doorstep the other day and recently I did 17 interviews in a day for radio stations in Canada.”