Bleak House: McClay’s CS Lewis room scrapped in renovation to ‘Christine Bleakley Speaking Room’

Northern Irish presenter Christine Bleakley said to be “over the moon” at plans to scrap McClay’s iconic CS Lewis reading room and convert it to a speaker’s room in her honour

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Plans are underway to scrap the well-known CS Lewis Reading Room in McClay library – and convert it to the Christine Bleakley Speaking Room.

The renovation takes place after a move to modernise several landmarks in the south Belfast university area.

Bleakley, Northern Irish presenter and star of such TV classics as That Dog Can Dance and Duran Duran: One Night Only beat out tough competition to have the honour of taking over the McClay library landmark.

From a shortlist which ultimately came down to Miss Bleakley, Eamonn Holmes, and late Irish Nobel prize winning author Seamus Heaney, the Dancing on Ice star emerged triumphant.

The decision is also a bit ironic – Bleakley didn’t spend enough time in the reading room and failed to graduate from her politics degree at QUB.

Sorry Mr Heaney

The room, renovated at the cost of £1.2 million, is expected to be finished in early 2015, and will be opened by Christine Bleakley herself accompanied by her Chelsea footballer fiancé, Frank Lampard.

Chelsea fans at QUB will be beside themselves with excitement at Lampard’s visit

The plans to renovate the room to reflect a more modern Irish star have been met with enthusiasm by QUB students.
One final year English student told The Tab: “I think it’s great, she always looks so stylish and the room will add a touch of much needed glamour to the McClay!

“I mean let’s be honest, the old room was a bit outdated. Most students now don’t know or care who C.S Lewis is – and the door looks like a wardrobe, what’s up with that?”

However some have questioned the decision to scrap the current C.S Lewis reading room. Another first year Finance student at QUB said: “It’s a total waste of money, and she was fucking shit on Strictly Come Dancing.”

Miss Bleakley is said to be “over the moon” to be honoured by her old university.

Check the date guys…