Ross Kemp reveals family ties to Portsmouth and connection with popular pub the Ship and Castle in Landport

Kemp visited the The Bridge Tavern in East Street, Camber Dock, on January 31 as part of a new BBC series. However, last April he spoke to The News at the Mary Rose Museum to help launch Dive The Mary Rose 4D, an immersive attraction featuring his narration.

The Eastenders star oepneed up about his connections to Portsmouth. Tracing his maternal lineage, the Buck family, the actor and presenter described how generations of his ancestors called the city home and even owned a popular pub in Landport.

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Ross Kemp said: "My great great grandfather came to the city - I think in Victorian times - and he ran a barge company that supplied sand to all the building works which were going on at the time. He sold that, then he bought a pub called the Ship and Castle, which is still going strong near the ferry port. Obviously my family don’t own it anymore, but one of his many sons was my great grandfather. He went to sea when he was young and he stayed at sea until he was in his 70s - in the Merchant Navy. He got shipwrecked three times - we believe - and in the middle of that he had my grandma. A lot of the Buck family were here."

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The Ship and Castle, in Rudmore Road, Landport, remains a popular pub a stone’s throw away from the ferry port. Series two of Ross Kemp: Deep Sea Treasure Hunter touched on his Portsmouth roots and saw Kemp explore the Mary Rose shipwreck.