LONDON: Cambridge University is asking script-writers of popular soaps like “EastEnders” to give it a plug to help break down its elitist image.

It wants to feature amid the usual TV soap tales of rivalry, sex and revenge in an attempt to attract more state-educated students.

“It is an opportunity to show we are contemporary and modern ... and interested in the best students,” said a University spokesman.

“We are looking to use media that people watch every day. You cannot rely on newspapers alone.”

“Coronation Street” and “Emmerdale” have also been approached, as have other popular programmes such as “Top Gear” and “Doctor Who”.

“We have had a number of warm letters already and one hot lead from one production company,” the spokesman added.

EastEnders already features a storyline involving pupils whose families are hoping they will make it to Cambridge or its academic rival Oxford.

“We were already in the process of writing to EastEnders when we saw the story unfold, the spokesman said. “That was really helpful.”

“We wrote to them asking if they wanted any assistance on recruitment.”

Slightly more than half Cambridge’s students are from state schools as opposed to fee-paying independent schools, but the figure has dropped in recent years from about 58 to 55 per cent.

It has an intake target for state schools of about 62 per cent.

“It is cheaper to study at Cambridge than at other universities,” the spokesman added. “We want to remove barriers for bright kids from ordinary backgrounds.”

The spokesman said another impetus for the move into popular television is the 800th anniversary of Cambridge next year.

The University is not the only one to try and sell itself through soap operas.

Some government departments, such as the Department of Health, also try to include campaigns into shows, such as healthy eating or vaccinations.—Reuters