Relative 'excited' by new Shackleton TV documentary

Georgia Shackleton, who claims shared ancestry with Ernest, hopes the documentary will unearth more stories of his adventure

A distant relative of the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton has said a new TV documentary could shed more light on his adventures.

During his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Shackleton and his crew had to make a heroic escape on foot and in small boats after the ship Endurance was crushed by sea ice.

Endurance, due for release on Friday by National Geographic, follows the divers who discovered the lost vessel, which went down in November1915.

Georgia Shackleton, from Norfolk, who claims to have shared ancestry with Ernest, said: "It's going to be really exciting to see the footage of the Endurance and the people trying to bring it up."

The Shackleton Trio, with Georgia Shackleton centre stage, performs songs written by the Antarctic explorer

She said: "It's always amazing to hear anything about Shackleton's struggle.

"I'm quite keen to know the stories and see [expedition photographer] Frank Hurley's footage brought back into colour.

"I think that will make it so people today can relate to the struggle and the hardship they were going through.

"But I'm also really keen to learn the story of the people trying to bring the boat up after it was found. I think it's going to be fascinating."

The explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton

She and her partner Aaron Bennett play in a folk band called The Shackleton Trio. Their repertoire includes songs written by the explorer.

Aaron Bennett and Georgia Shackleton hope the new documentary will both celebrate and explain Ernest Shackleton's work in the Antarctic

Miss Shackleton, who has said her shared ancestry dates back to the 17th century, said she believes she and Ernest share some traits, adding: "There's certainly strong Shackleton features that have travelled down the line.

"I think Shackleton and his crew members would have been really keen for the story to be told in as much detail as possible... trying to put that in line with what they might be doing today if they were alive.

"I think they might be doing a lot about climate struggle and climate awareness and saving our poor declining marine life.

"Anything that celebrates the age of polar expedition I think they would be cheering on."