Lorraine Kelly 'terrified' climbing up RRS Discovery ship mast in Dundee
"I'm not good with heights, so it was scary, I was shaking like a leaf.'
Lorraine Kelly said she was "shaking like a leaf" as she scaled the mast of the RRS Discovery ship in Dundee, ahead of the daring experience opening to the public later this year.
She joined fellow TV presenter Dan Snow in a race up the 25-metre mast on Friday, June 27, with Snow just beating her to the top by a few minutes. The pair then abseiled back to the ground.
The climb aims to recreate the working conditions the ship's original crew faced when it voyaged to Antarctica 124 years ago, albeit they endured harsh weather conditions and no modern safety precautions.
After reaching the top, both stars waved for the cameras below. Snow spoke into the microphone of a camera drone above, with little-to-no fear in his voice.
Lorraine later said: 'The experience in general was absolutely terrifying and the only reason I think I got through it was because Dan Snow was doing it as well.
'He looked so calm as he was shimmying up the rigging. That made me feel a bit better, but I'm not good with heights, so it was scary, I was shaking like a leaf, but it's really good to be back on dry land.'
Led by the Dundee Heritage Trust, the Discovery Mast Climb will be open for members of the public to experience this autumn.
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It is expected to draw attention from all over the world, and is the only experience of its kind in Scotland. The Cutty Sark in London and SS Great Britain in Bristol offer a similar challenge.
Lorraine, a patron of the Dundee Heritage Trust alongside Snow, added: 'The Discovery ship is beautiful, she's the symbol of Dundee. I'm obsessed with all things Antarctica, and she went to Antarctica.
'She's an old girl so she needs a lot of maintenance, and obviously that costs a lot of money. This was all about raising awareness of the Discovery and letting everyone in Dundee have a look at her.'
She said the experience also highlighted the country's former ties to the whaling industry, which was abolished in Scotland in 1963.
She said: 'Dundee's links with Antarctica and South Georgia are very important, and this whole weekend is really about that. It's about looking back on the whaling industry, which was a big part of the city, and looking forward to the fact that we don't do that anymore – thank goodness – and we're trying to save these beautiful animals, so it's a celebration of the future.'
Asked if she would consider such a climb again, Kelly joked: 'I don't think I'll ever do anything like that again. I'll leave that to the experts.'
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