Ben Fogle to drag dead whale through British waters in the hope of attracting great white sharks

'It could be the most exciting thing I’ve ever done'

(Getty)

In a TV documentary that could have been pitched by Alan Partridge, Ben Fogle will search for great white sharks off the coast of Britain.

The presenter and a team of experts hope to discover just what is lurking in the depths near our beaches, by towing a a dead whale that washed up in Scotland a few months ago through the Irish Sea (a method usually only employed in tropical waters called a ‘whale fall’).

The boat will set sale today, and be fitted with underwater cameras to capture whatever feeds off it.

“It’s a top secret mission so I can’t talk too much about it but it could be the most exciting and ambitious thing I’ve ever done,” Fogle told The Sun.

“We might change what we know about the British Atlantic waters and what’s in them.”

A show insider added to the tabloid: “The aim is to keep the corpse buoyed at the surface at first and then drop it about 100ft, monitoring it so we can see what it attracts.

“We are hoping it gives a much deeper insight into what actually is swimming around in our waters, especially bigger creatures.

“We are expecting hammerhead sharks and blue sharks. Great white sharks have never been seen before in British waters.

“But this is a very exciting project and until the cameras start rolling, no one knows what we’ll see.”

The documentary is expected to air on ITV sometime next year.