Boxing officials have urged the BBC to drop a televised charity boxing match featuring Ricky Gervais amid fears it is dangerous and will tarnish the sport's image.

The British Boxing Board of Control has written to director general Greg Dyke asking him to rethink plans to broadcast the fight.

A one-hour programme showing The Office star Gervais and Anthea Turner's husband Grant Bovey in the ring is due to go out on BBC Two on 29 December.

The BBC have acted like naive schoolteachers - you shouldn't dream of embarking on this without proper forethought Simon Block British Boxing Board of Control

The fight, and its preparation involving senior boxing trainers, has already been filmed and is being touted as one of the BBC's Christmas entertainment highlights.

The two men attempt to go for three 90-second rounds, with the winner's purse of �5,000 going to a charity of his choice.

The BBC defended its decision to broadcast the show, and said the pair - both aged 41 - went through arduous fitness and training procedures to shape up for the bout.

Each boxer was forced to undertake a full medical by an independent doctor BBC spokesman

But the boxing board claimed the BBC was irresponsible in staging the event because it is unlicensed and the two men are too old to box safely.

General secretary Simon Block told BBC News Online: "The BBC have acted like naive schoolteachers.

"It's like taking a party of kids off into the Cairngorms in T-shirts and sandals and then the weather changes - if nothing goes wrong it's fine, but you shouldn't dream of embarking on this without proper forethought."

Gervais went through weeks of training for the bout

Mr Block said the board had a "burdensome responsibility" with its duty of care towards the well-being of fighters.

"For boxing to take place without the controls we exert isn't healthy for the game," he said.

"The BBC don't know whether there was any underlying health condition in these two men. We would never license anyone to box in their late 30s or older."

Mr Block added: "We work very hard to try to maintain and improve the image of the sport, and we don't think this helps."

He said he had complained privately to senior BBC executives about a previous celebrity charity boxing encounter, involving Les Dennis and Bob Mortimer, in aid of Sport Relief in July. The programme drew six million viewers.

Bovey, left, with wife Anthea Turner, is seeking �5,000 for charity

"We were concerned, but we thought it was a one-off, a bit of fun, and it might have been counter-productive to come down too heavily."

But the BBC insisted the safety of Gervais and Bovey has "always been paramount".

"That's why all the training and the bout itself have been held under tightly controlled circumstances," said a spokesman.

He said advice had been taken from Dr Sandra Scott, the official medical adviser who has seven years' experience with the British Boxing Board of Control.

Safety measures

Dr Scott also took "full advice" from the Chief Medical Officer of the Amateur Boxing Association.

Each boxer had to have a full medical by an independent doctor who agreed that they were both "fit to box" even before they started training, the spokesman said.

He added that the fight was attended by two doctors, an anaesthetist and MediAid paramedics recommended to attend by Dr Scott on advice from the ABA.

"Safety measures were added with only three rounds, one-and-a-half minutes long with one and half-minute gaps between (rather than one minute gaps).

"The contenders were fully protected with 16oz gloves rather than 10oz, and protective headgear," he added.