They recently filmed a six-part television programme that gave them an opportunity to combine their friendship and love of sport.

Andrew (25) is currently in his final year of a sports scholarship at the University of Tennessee, where he is combining his psychology studies with swimming. He is currently training to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing next year, and is in a relationship with a fellow college student, Julie.

Kyle (24) started singing lessons when he was in primary school, and initially went to Aberdeen University to study sports. He won a place in the pop band Six, in conjunction with the television programme Popstars.

Following the demise of the band, Kyle went back to university in NewcastleUpon-Tyne, and recently graduated in estate management.

He and Andrew are currently presenting the six-part Activity Breaks programme on TV3 on Thursday at 7.30 pm. For more information log on to www. activitybreaks. com K Andrew on Kyle Kyle and I used to live in the same neighbourhood when we were much younger, and we met when I was about four. I was a year older than Kyle and was friends with his brother, and we used to go off exploring and adventuring with our other friends. My family moved away when I was about 13, but we still kept up the friendship and hung out at the weekends.

What I loved about going down to Kyle's house was that his mum always asked me if I wanted a cup of tea, and would offer me a bar of chocolate, which would be a real treat because we didn't get chocolate that often at home. I used to tell my brothers and sisters about how great going to Kyle's house was, and one day when I was away swimming there was a knock on Kyle's door and it was my fiveyear-old brother Richard. He asked if Kyle was coming out, and when his mum said he wasn't there he said, "Well, can I have a bar of chocolate then?" She just laughed and got him one, and we still tease him about it to this day.

I couldn't go out and party as much as Kyle as we got older because of my swimming schedule, and even though I felt at times that I was missing out, I'm glad now that I managed to keep the discipline up.

I went to Australia for a year, when Kyle got into Six, and I remember going to see them when they were supporting Westlife at the Odyssey in Belfast. I couldn't believe it when I saw Kyle on stage, singing and dancing. I'd never really seen him perform, and it was very weird but it was class.

It was really tough when the whole Six thing fell apart, especially as there were some unanswered questions about it, but Kyle is just so positive and his attitude is that these things shape you, so he just moved on with his life.

I missed the Athens Olympics by 0.4 of a second and it was good to have Kyle to talk it through with. He's very direct and doesn't beat about the bush, and is always very supportive. We've both had a lot of highs and lows in our lives for our age, and the one thing is that we're both very positive.

We live in different countries now, and obviously I miss the banter, but we keep in touch all the time. I remember swimming at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, and the closing ceremony was on, and everyone was going nuts, but I was in the bus phoning Kyle. He was in Six at the time and had just got off-stage, and I was more interested in what was happening with him.

Kyle on Andrew Andrew and I had sports as a common bond from a very early age. He was into swimming, and I was really passionate about rugby and football. Andrew trained really hard every day, so if I went in to school tired in the morning, I would think about how Andrew had already been in the pool for a couple of hours, and I had a lot of respect for him for that.

I think I took a shine to girls earlier than Andrew, maybe because he spent so much time with his head under water. I got into the band Six, and it was totally by chance, because I only went along for the audition with a friend because my rugby match had been cancelled.

I never really used to sing in front of people because I was a bit shy. We were sworn to secrecy, so I had to keep it from Andrew initially, but it was easier because he was away in Australia. I had to tell him when he came home for Christmas though, and he was just freaking out and could hardly believe it.

When Six ended, Andrew was really supportive, and he's the first person I would go to if I wanted to talk to about anything - girl trouble, or whatever is bugging me in life in general. The best thing that has happened to us as friends was being offered the Activity Breaks programme, because we had a brilliant time.

On the first show, we went skiing, which Andrew had never done, and it was so funny watching this six-foot-six guy trying to get the hang of it. He got his own back the next week, when we went golfing, which he was much better at than me. We never tried to get one up on the other - our attitude was always to have a laugh.

People seem to think that we have good chemistry on the show, and it's probably because we're actually best friends.

I spent a month with Andrew in Tennessee, and he'd be in the pool for two hours at 5.30 am, with a weights session at lunch-time, followed by another two hours in the pool in the afternoon. I tried to get up at the same time as him and go to the weights centre to train myself, and it was a really tough schedule.

I really admire him, and think swimmers don't get enough recognition for all the work they put in. I think he's a great role model for young people coming up in sport.