Jamie Laing has finally spoken out after his embarrassing live television error during the 2026 Boat Race coverage. The Made In Chelsea personality, aged 37, was hosting Channel 4's Saturday broadcast of the prestigious rowing event when he incorrectly offered commiserations to Cambridge University Boat Club instead of Oxford University Boat Club.
Addressing the On-Air Mistake
On Monday, Jamie shared a clip from the broadcast on his Instagram account with the caption: 'When you get handed the wrong cue card on live TV.' During the actual broadcast moment, he had declared: 'Commiserations go to the losing crew: Cambridge University Boat Club.'
After encountering a mixture of silence and confusion from the assembled crowd, Jamie quickly corrected himself, saying: 'Sorry my mistake. Commiserations go to the losing crew: Oxford University Boat Club! That's a typo! It's like the Oscars all over again.'
Channel 4's Inaugural Broadcast
Jamie Laing was presenting for Channel 4 at the historic event, which marked the broadcaster's first time airing the Boat Race after securing the rights from the BBC. The 2026 competition saw Cambridge University triumph in the men's race, while Oxford's women secured their first victory since 2016.
Additional Broadcasting Challenges
The broadcast faced further complications when Jamie interviewed victorious Oxford women's cox Louis Corrigan post-race. When asked about race tactics, Corrigan responded enthusiastically: 'Just holding them where they needed to be, just managing how much stream we can get, how much rough water we can cope with and narrowing that down just right. I think we did that really well and we held them at bay. What a f***ing awesome day.'
Jamie quickly interjected: 'Excuse for the language, we are celebrating it's okay.' Later, presenter Clare Balding had to issue another apology for swearing after a member of the Cambridge team was heard shouting 'Let's f***ing go' during their post-match interview following their men's event victory.
The Race Itself
Cambridge were heavily favoured to win the men's race, but Oxford put up a strong fight during the first half before eventually falling behind. Both teams received multiple warnings from the umpire for drifting over as they competed for optimal positioning on the River Thames, which experienced challenging southwesterly winds.
In the end, Cambridge completed the four-mile, 374-yard course with a time of 17:56:84, finishing 11.02 seconds ahead of their Oxford competitors in front of thousands of riverside spectators. Cambridge has dominated the men's event in recent years, claiming seven wins in the last eight competitions. Overall, Cambridge now leads the historic rivalry 90-81.
Victorious Reactions
Noam Mouelle, who secured his fourth Boat Race victory with Cambridge, commented: 'Feeling amazing. It was a super hard race. Everyone was blowing halfway through the race but everyone had done the job early so no problem. We just had to make no mistakes. Great race. It'll take a bit of time to realise it. The goal was to get the job done.'
Victorious cox Sammy Houdaigui added: 'That was a fantastic race. All credit to Oxford and their eight rowers. We knew we had the right athletes in the boat. I love these guys. Hats off to Oxford.'
