Have you ever wondered whether any of the famous folk that we idolise ever attended lectures at our campus, in pursuit of a degree from the same institution that we are now at? Has it ever crossed your mind to ask who this ‘Edward Boyle’ bloke actually was? Here’s my lowdown on the greatest people Leeds University has ever churned out into the real (celebrity) world.
The Hotties
Chris Pine – Yes, that’s right: an actual Hollywood movie star once raved at Fruity (well, I’m assuming he did at some point). In 2001, Chris Pine spent a year studying English at Leeds Uni as an exchange student from the University of California, Berkley. Since gaining his degree, Pine has gone on to star in films as the love interest of many A-list actresses, including the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Anne Hathaway and Reese Witherspoon. Speaking in reference to his time studying here, Chris said: “Leeds offered me everything I could have possibly wanted from a university: a challenging course that demanded critical and original thinking, a thriving social scene offered by a myriad of school societies, and a busy City Centre. I loved it, I miss it, and I wouldn’t trade my year for anything in the world”. He sounds lovely; if only we had been students here in 2001!
Jamie Laing – Jamie doesn’t hide his love for Leeds, and doesn’t keep a low profile when he makes return trips to the North, since finding fame on the E4 show, ‘Made in Chelsea’. His announced presence in Leeds certainly creates a frenzy on Facebook and Twitter among Leeds students; I distinctly remember him tweeting ‘Where’s a house party in Hyde park tonight?’ last year. This prompted me to plead with my housemates to throw a last-minute party in the desperate hope that he might actually turn up, but he didn’t. Jamie apparently admitted that he originally only chose Leeds because he had ‘fallen in love with a girl and followed her [here]’; the girl turned out to be a certain Caggie Dunlop. However, during his time at Leeds, a few nights out at some of our infamous nightclubs obviously helped him realise ‘how many other fish there were in the sea.’ He graduated with a degree in Theatre and Performance, which perhaps lessens the chances of ‘Made in Chelsea’ being genuine reality.
The Buildings
Edward Boyle – Believe it or not, ‘Eddy B’ did actually once exist as a real human and not just a building full of books. So Edward Boyle, ‘Baron Boyle of Handsworth’, may not have been a student here, but he was the Vice-Chancellor of the University for eleven years, from 1970 until 1981 when he sadly passed away due to cancer. His previous career involved various positions within the Conservative Party, including ‘Economic and Financial Secretary’ to the Treasury.
Roger Stevens – No, he wasn’t just an awful architect; he too used to be the Vice-Chancellor for the University of Leeds and was Boyle’s predecessor. Before working at the university between 1963 and 1970, Sir Roger Bentham Stevens was a diplomat and civil servant. For some of his life, he worked as the British Ambassador for Sweden and Persia.
The Girls
Jenni Falconer – She is the lady on the television who might be classified by some as a university ‘drop-out’, after she was offered a full-time job on TV mid-degree; she of course chose fame over a poor student life. You may recognise her these days from shows such as This Morning, GMTV, and The National Lottery. However, she began her presenting career as a fresher in Leeds, working for BBC Scotland at the young age of nineteen. Jenni must have realised how awesome Leeds Uni is, as she chose to commute to and from lectures in Leeds in order to present weekly television episodes on ITV whilst still being able to experience life as a Leeds student. However, she eventually chose to put her Spanish and Italian degree ‘on hold’ as her career progressed, with the intention of returning to complete a degree at a later date. Leeds is still waiting for you Jenni!
Chelsy Davy – As Davy ‘bagged the most eligible bachelor in the country’, surely this is reason enough for her to be classed as one of the most successful people to have studied at Leeds? During her time at Leeds, photographs of Hyde Park and campus were commonly found in national newspapers due to Chelsy being ‘papped’ each time there was a new revelation about her and Prince Harry’s relationship. Reporters were apparently shocked that the socialite had swapped her millionaire lifestyle for a £60–a-week room at her Hyde Park student house, which they described as having ‘crumbling paintwork’ and ‘an overflowing skip parked outside its front door’. Sure enough, that sounds like Hyde Park. Chelsy graduated with a Law degree, and rumour has it that there are memories of several wild nights out at Tequila to go with it.
The Legends
Alastair McGowan – Alastair graduated from Leeds University in 1986 with a degree in English. If you are unsure of who this is, think back to The Big Impression which was one of the BBC’s highest rated comedy programmes for four years. McGowan is known to be a devoted Leeds United football fan, and has admitted in the past that his reason for choosing to study at Leeds was its closeness to Elland Road.
Mark Knopfler – Mark Knopfler of the British rock band, Dire Straits, would by far be classed as the most famous musician to have come out of Leeds Uni. He attended Leeds in 1970 after having been hired by the Yorkshire Evening Post as a junior reporter, and decided to stay in the City as a student to study for a degree in English. It was during his time as a student in Leeds that Knopfler began to find himself as a guitar player through his relationships with other students he met who taught him a lot about music. It was also during these years that he wrote his first song, which was recorded in Pudsey, and was called ‘Summer’s Coming My Way.’
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