Things to do in Portsmouth: Mary Rose Museum unveils new 4D attraction at start of Easter holidays as EastEnders star Ross Kemp attends launch

‘Dive The Mary Rose 4D’ combines archive footage from the raising of the ship’s hull in 1982 with CGI, movements, sounds, smells and bubbles to simulate a trip to the bottom of the Solent.

Eastenders star and documentary maker Ross Kemp, who recently dived at the site for an upcoming documentary series and provided narration for the 4D film, attended a launch event at the museum on Thursday, March 30.

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Ross said: ‘If you live here locally and you do not come to this exhibition, you are missing out. It's an incredible experience. The seats rock, you feel like you’re going out in the boat. When you enter the water, because it’s in 3D, it feels like you’re actually jumping off the side of the boat.

‘It’s been brilliantly put together and the visuals are cutting edge. It's a story that carries on giving because there are still bits of it down there - still bits that could be retrieved. Some bad weather and more of it may be exposed. Only a handful of people get to dive at the site and I’m fortunate to be one of them.’

The film also features footage of King Charles who dove into the Solent to see Henry VIII’s sunken battleship with the original excavation team 40 years ago.

Mary Rose Trust chief executive Dominic Jones said the feedback from those who have experienced the attraction – including two children of the trust’s founders – has been ‘immense’.

Dominic said: ‘All of the voices you hear are original divers, from Ross Kemp to King Charles to all of the other people. Everyone who has been to see it - or their families who have been to see it – all think it is exactly what it’s like to dive the Mary Rose.’

Mary Rose Trust head of research Dr Alex Hildred said: ‘You’re really taken on a journey. From the moment you first see the timbers right the way through to living the ship. It's quite a complex operation and it was difficult to explain in 2D panels, and I think this does it really well. I’ve probably seen it about four times now, and my heart still goes at various points in it.

Head of interpretation and maritime archaeology Christopher Dobbs, who was involved in the raising of the wreckage, added: ‘I’m delighted to say that in this video we’ve just launched, I’m sort of there because I was with the Mary Rose as it left the sea bed and went to the surface, so it’s been an incredible journey.

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‘People coming to this museum can really get an idea of Tudor times 500 years ago and now in this new 4D experience, they can experience what we experienced under water - actually diving onto the wreck and seeing what it was like to uncover a ship. That's something that we’ve never been able to portray before in the museum.’

Dive The Mary Rose 4D opens to the public on Friday, March 31 at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic dockyard, with tickets available on the dockyard’s website.