Question Author
Well, this is a bit of a surprise in more ways than one! Firstly, because nobody answered me here to start with, I reposted the question in Body & Soul, simply because that seems to be one of the busiest of the categories.
The two suggestions I got there seemed sensible, namely that it might have been a stag-party outing or a student-rag prank. I did get another look at the incident on i-player and I have to say some of the "ladies" DID seem rather masculine!
Secondly, it IS me, but I am on here virtually every day, so I'm surprised that you haven't come across my name for ages. As regards the Apricot/Thugulike transformation, it's amazing how long it takes one to realise that a regular has even disappeared. I suppose it depends to a large extent on what categories one frequents and which specific questions one switches in to. Anyway, it's good to see you're still around, as it were.