Harry Hill and Grayson Perry talk art at the Royal Academy

It is an art show that prides itself in being open to everyone, so in the hallowed rooms of the Royal Academy today there was every reason to find renowned British artist Grayson Perry chatting to comedian Harry Hill.

The former is coordinating this year's Summer Exhibition at the RA, and Hill, who calls himself a hobbyist artist, has submitted two works which have been accepted in the show.

Perry and his fellow RA members are tasked with choosing the artworks to display - this year there were 20,000 submissions - a record 1,351 make the final show, so Hill is rightly chuffed to have been selected, anonymously - the artworks have to be judged without the names of the artists attached. This show is about having a level playing field so the student artist gets as fair a shot as the professional.

The Summer Exhibition is the longest running public admission art show in the world - this is its 250th year and Perry, one of the UK's best known artists, says while the RA's procedures have changed little over the years, this year there is more diversity than in the past, with older female artists playing a prominent part in the show. Established artists are invited to send in works and RA members also show pieces in the exhibition.

It is a joy, says Perry, to be looking through submitted artworks and to chose a piece knowing that it will have a massive impact on the unknown artist to have his or her work displayed alongside the likes of David Hockney and Tracey Emin.

And it's not just about prestige. Hill says his artwork keeps him fit too - he used an axe, he says, to carve his submitted work, a wooden interpretation of the body and its internal workings.

As Perry says, there really is something for everyone at the exhibition this year.