Ross Kemp visits Old Portsmouth pub The Bridge Tavern as filming underway for new BBC series

Staff and customers at The Bridge Tavern in East Street, Camber Dock, were delighted to meet the documentary maker and actor - known for his role as Grant Mitchell in Eastenders - as he stopped for lunch and to took part in filming for the show.

Bridge Tavern owner and landlord Dave Reed said he was “pleased to see him” on Wednesday, January 29, not having known which celebrity would be visiting ahead of filming. The television star popped back to the pub this morning (February 1) for some additional footage. Dave added that Kemp is due to travel to Southampton later today.

Last year, during a visit to The Mary Rose Museum for the launch of a new 4D attraction and to promote Ross Kemp: Deep Sea Treasure Hunter, Kemp told The News about his family ties to Portsmouth. 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.”

The Bridge Tavern was also visited by Masterchef host Greg Wallace in 2019 for BBC show Eat Well for Less and later to host a function for 50 members of the public. You can find out more about the pub’s storied history here.