Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will be the star of the small screen once again this Friday, when comedian and presenter Arthur Smith discovers what it is like to spend the night aboard HMS Victory as he follows in the footsteps of Admiral Lord Nelson for BBC One’s The One Show.
Filmed as part of a series of features on The One Show called "Sleeping With...", Arthur Smith spends the night at a historic location associated with a significant personality. Last week saw him visit Cheltenham to learn more about the composer Gustav Holst.
Whilst onboard Nelson’s famous flagship HMS Victory, Arthur visited Horatio Nelson’s Great Cabin and chatted to current Commanding Officer ‘Oscar’ Whild, he learnt about the everyday lives of the men on board and he quickly discovered how difficult it is to sleep in a hammock, before eventually settling down to sleep in his Naval sleeping bag and camp bed!
Commenting on his unique visit, Arthur Smith said “it was a thrilling experience to walk around Victory - to imagine the sailors climbing the rigging, slurping grog, tending the guns, and the spot where nelson fell is rather chilling.”
To see if Arthur survived the night, tune into BBC ONE this Friday 5th February at 7pm.
The images supplied with this story are courtesy of the BBC.
