Saga Cruises partners with BBC to bring TV stars aboard ships

The stars will provide insights into the making of their respective BBC shows as part of an enhanced entertainment experience. 

It is the first time that BBC Studios has partnered with a cruise line to offer exclusive access to a range of its stars and experts. These include: Dr Michael Mosley, Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Ella Al-Shamahi and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professionals Luba Mushtuk and Vito Coppola, as well as the visual effects team behind iconic shows like ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Silent Witness.’ 

The programme will initially run between July 2024 and March 2025, across seven specially selected all-inclusive no-fly itineraries aboard sister ships Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Discovery.

Iconic brands coming together

Saga Cruises CEO Nigel Banks stated, ‘I am delighted that we are welcoming celebrity guests and experts from BBC Studios onto our ships… We are both iconic British brands, trusted for many years, and this is a fantastic opportunity to enhance our on board entertainment offering.’ 

Richard Curwen, BBC Studios live entertainment executive producer confirmed, ‘this is the first time people will be able to enjoy a variety of BBC Studios shows with their presenters and entertainers, live on a cruise ship.’ 

Dance

Mushtuk and Coppola will talk about their careers, firstly as competitive dancers and then on the programme Strictly Come Dancing. They will also deliver two performances in the ship’s Playhouse Theatre. 

They join the 22-night ‘Croatia and the Treasures of the Adriatic’ cruise departing on February 28, 2025 and the 18-night ‘Western Mediterranean and Italian Riviera’ voyage departing on March 26, 2025. Both leave from Portsmouth. 

Podcasting and visual effects

Podcast ‘Just One Thing’ produced by BBC Studios for BBC Sounds sees journalist, producer and presenter Mosley share ‘one thing’ to improve health and wellbeing. On board, he and his executive producer, Zoe Heron, will take passengers into the world of making the podcast, and more. 

Mosley joins the 30-night ‘Tropical Shores of the Caribbean’ cruise, leaving from Portsmouth on November 5, 2024. 

Plus, Millennium FX Director Kate Walshe will tell passengers about the fascinating world of visual effects. The company has worked extensively on BBC Studios productions, as well as on major Hollywood films, West End-theatre productions and international tours, bringing prosthetics, costumes, animatronics and props to the stage and screen. 

‘Gladiator,’ ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and BBC shows ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Silent Witness’ are among the long list of projects involving Millennium FX. 

In one of Walshe’s two talks, passengers will see a man transformed into a vampire using special Millennium FX techniques. She joins the 49-night ‘Caribbean and Central America Discovery’ voyage leaving from Portsmouth on January 6, 2025.

Science

‘The Sky at Night’ has been a staple of British TV for over 65 years, bringing the world of astronomy and space to the small screen. Its presenter, scientist Aderin-Pocock, will make two appearances to share stories of space exploration: during the 49-night ‘Caribbean and Central America Discovery’ cruise setting sail on January 6, 2025 and the 15-night ‘Casablanca and the Canaries’ cruise kicking off on February 13, 2025. Both voyages leave from Portsmouth.

Explorer, evolutionary biologist, paleoanthropologist and writer Al-Shamahi has presented a range of TV programmes for BBC Studios. She will talk to passengers about her career and work, from researching Neanderthal history to seeking fossils in danger zones around the world, and talk about ‘Human’ – a new science programme airing on BBC Two in 2025. 

She joins the 19-night ‘Arctic Summer: Iceland and the North Cape’ cruise leaving from Dover on July 17, 2024, as well as the 29-night ‘Contrasts of Canada and the USA’ cruise, leaving from Portsmouth on September 21, 2024.