‘It’s humanity incarnate’

After being given days to live, Timothy Spall vowed that if he ever recovered he would get a boat – he did both. Hear about his close encounters.

Actor Timothy Spall isn’t short of maritime material. He once almost tethered his boat to a WW2 wreck housing 1,400 tonnes of high explosives. And once navigated what Admiral Nelson regarded as the most dangerous stretch of water he’d ever encountered. Whatever the sea throws at them, Tim and his wife – Shane – have a tried-and-tested way of keeping their cool. What’s their secret?

An actor's life or a sailor's life? Hear more yarns from another seagoing screen star, Griff Rhys Jones (Episode 19).