Ross Kemp was set to dive to the Titanic on doomed submersible but production company ruled it was too dangerous
24 June 2023, 10:45
Ross Kemp was set to film a documentary showing him visit the wreck of the Titanic in the OceanGate submersible that imploded - but was told it was too dangerous.
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The former EastEnders star was filming his new series of Ross Kemp: Deep Sea Treasure Hunter and was due to visit the grave of the ocean liner 12,000ft below the waves.
The documentary, which would have gone ahead in 2022, was to mark the 110th anniversary of the Titanic.
But they decided not to use OceanGate's craft, Titan, which is believed to have been destroyed in a tragedy that killed all five people aboard including the company's CEO.
Professor Jonathan Shalit, of Kemp's agency InterTalent, said: "Their team checked out this OceanGate submersible and pulled out of using it, as it was simply not considered safe or fit for purpose.
"I am just relieved not to have had my post note in history as the agent who killed Ross Kemp."
A TV insider told The Sun: "Ross had to get a deep sea diving certificate so he could dive at up to 40 metres, which requires a lot of teaching and learning.
"But when provisional enquiries were made with OceanGate, the question was asked: 'How much training does he need to go down in the submersible to the Titanic?'
"And the answer was: 'None at all'.
"The company was looked at initially because they were a well-known organisation, but after Atlantic [Productions] started asking questions, any plans quickly unravelled."
Atlantic Productions has previously filmed the Titanic with underwater cameras and took Sir David Attenborough down to the Great Barrier Reef.
Five people were killed when the Titan went to the shipwreck on Sunday.
Billionaire Hamish Harding, 55, businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, his son Suleman, 19, French ex-navy diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, died alongside Stockton Rush, the OceanGate boss.
It is believed the vessel imploded. Questions about the safety of the Titan have been raised.
An American businessman has revealed he was offered a spot on the doomed OceanGate Titanic submersible and the company's CEO insisted it was safer than "crossing the street".
Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas financier, shared texts from Stockton Rush – one of the five passengers killed in the disaster – trying to convince him to book a $150,000 trip to see the ocean liner.
