Former Shields Ferry spotted in a popular ITV crime drama
A former Shields Ferry has been spotted in an ITV crime data.
The Shieldsman, which has been transformed from a Shields Ferry into a houseboat at Shoreham-by-Sea, appeared in the season finale of Grace.
The vessel featured in a scene where the Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who is played by John Simm, searches for a suspect as he faces mounting pressure amid a major drug investigation.
Nexus, the public body which operates the Shields Ferry, decommissioned the Shieldsman in 2007 - with the vessel sold to a private buyer in 2009.
The former ferry, which transported people across the River Tyne for 30 years, was taken down to the South Coast, but a plan to transform her into a bar fell through.
The Shieldsman was sold again in 2015, and that buyer turned her into a spacious, four bedroomed houseboat, with all the mod cons.
John Souter, Head of Customer Service Operations at Nexus, expressed his delight at seeing the Shieldsman in the ITV crime drama.
He said: “It was brilliant to see the Shieldsman in the latest episode of Grace and it was a really nice surprise.
“More than a few eagle-eyed viewers spotted her in the final episode of the latest series that was screened on ITV last Sunday night (April 27).
“She still looked in tip top condition.
“The Shieldsman was a real workhorse on the River Tyne for three decades, before we retired her from service.
“To see her on national television, in such a popular series, was fantastic and we were able to tell that she’s still very much being used as a houseboat down on the south coast of England.”
The Shieldsman’s transformation in 2015 saw her engines removed to make room for a living space and two new bedrooms.
The lower passenger deck is now a living room and kitchen, with two offices at either end, with the upper deck and crew rooms transformed into a conservatory and another bedroom with an ensuite bathroom.
The wheelhouse was also turned into a bedroom.
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