Channel 4 wins rights to Flufts, the World Gerbil championships

Channel 4 has won the rights to the World Gerbil-breeding championships, Flufts, after a competitive bidding process that saw all the main broadcasters enter ten-figure bids (the first six of which were zeros, and the last two of which appeared after a decimal point).

Flufts, which is held every year in Ulaanbaatar, has risen in popularity over the years to become one of the top three rodent-based breeding awards programmes outside of continental USA.

Channel 4’s coverage will be fronted by Jon Snow, alongside TV vet Mark Evans, gerbil-collector Su Pollard, and at least seven of the 1980s Top of the Pops dance troupe Legs & Co.

Channel 4’s Head of Small Mammalian Awards shows, Bernie Pinklethorpe, said: “What am I doing with my life? I’ve got an economics degree from Cambridge, you know?”