TELEVISION Repair Shop boss Jay Blades is teaming up with Strictly sensation Helen Skelton and EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp for a special ‘TV Talent’ cruise of Western Europe.

The trio will offer behind the scenes insights in chat show-style interviews on P&O Cruises’ ship Ventura on a sailing to Spain, Portugal and the Channel Islands from Southampton on May 20 this year.

Jay Blades has hosted seven series of BBC TV’s hugely popular The Repair Shop, working with skilled craftsmen and women restoring life to treasured pieces of family history, releasing the memories they hold.

He has also spearheaded Jay’s Yorkshire Workshop, in which he opened the doors to his own workshop in Bradford, where the public nominated local heroes to receive hand-made, bespoke pieces of furniture.

Helen was already well-known as a BBC TV Countryfile presenter before she danced her way to the final of Strictly Come Dancing last year, capturing the hearts of the nation, narrowly missing out on the glitterball trophy.

She had already appeared as a reporter and presenter on Newsround and Sportsround before a long stint on Blue Peter, during which she took on incredible challenges, including the Namibia Ultra Marathon.

Ross is a BAFTA-winning documentary maker, actor, and author who first came to fame portraying surly Grant Mitchell – brother of Steve Kemp’s Phil Mitchell – in EastEnders.

Since 2006 he has received international recognition for award-winning, hard-hitting documentaries, including Ross Kemp: Extreme World, Ross Kemp in Afghanistan and Ross Kemp on Gangs.

The special seven-night Ventura sailing visits ports of call Vigo, Lisbon, Porto (from Leixoes) and Guernsey, with prices from £629 a head for an inside cabin.

The cruise code number to look for is N313.

The trio are the latest additions to the line-up of ‘P&O Cruises Presents’ onboard its vessels, which already includes Question of Sport legends Sue Barker, Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell.

Read more: Question of Sport trio reunite for new talk shows

Others include adventurer Ben Fogle, travel journalist Simon Calder and Monty Halls, best known for his BBC Great Escape series. You can read about the line-up in my previous post here.

The cruise line has also just announced another couple of cruises featuring exclusive performances by Take That frontman Gary Barlow, details of which I revealed here.

For more information or to book call P&O Cruises on 0344 338 8003, visit www.pocruises.com or contact a travel agent.