Former rugby legend and Strictly star Ugo Monye has said visiting Northern Ireland's famous North Coast to film a new TV show has given him a fresh perspective on life.
The ex-England and Premiership rugby star was speaking ahead of the screening of a new BBC NI series in which celebrities "reconnect with the sea".
B&B By The Sea is set in a unique coastal hideaway on Downhill Beach near Castlerock, but despite the tranquil setting, it's not all rest and relaxation for the famous faces.
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The stunning location nestled beneath Mussenden Temple is a place of calm and gives the celebrity guests, including Ugo, a chance to explore their connections to the sea, acquire new skills and a fresh perspective through a range of activities.
Host Sharon McIlveen, gardener Mary Anne Farenden, driver Rory O’Kane - who has extensive knowledge of the local area - and Michelin-starred chef Alex Greene are on hand to welcome celebrity guests to the B&B.
Ugo, 39, has already become a familiar face to BBC One viewers recently after joining forces with Sam Quek and Top Gear's Paddy McGuinness to front the long-running quiz show, Question of Sport.
But with his adventurous spirit, Ugo was eager to get stuck in with all the challenges the B&B team threw at him during his time in Northern Ireland.
His first stop was a fishing trip in the cold Northern Atlantic waters to bring home the catch of the day for Alex to prepare a delicious scallop stew for dinner.
Knowing that Ugo didn't grow up beside the sea, when Sharon proposed the perfect activity for the sportsman - stand up paddleboarding - he had to quickly master a watersport that people have been practising for centuries in just one morning.
"It was beautiful but when you're going paddleboarding in the Irish Sea, you probably don't want to be doing it in the winter," he joked to Belfast Live.
"I tried it out again over the summer while on holiday in Greece and I found that I hadn't learned a great deal from my previous expedition. I certainly felt more confident but that didn't really translate to how good I was.
"But I'm glad that something I first learned in Northern Ireland wasn't a one off and I still want to continue to do it."
For the London-based former Harlequins talisman, the chance to be alone with nature on the beach was "so far removed from his own day to day life".
"Without getting too deep, it was nice to be able to slow things down and reflect, enjoy and take it all in," he said.
"Having a beach on my doorstep and being able to venture out on the water to fish was a real highlight. I consider myself a city boy and I'm used to a fast-paced life so having the crashing waves to send me to sleep was a very different sound for me.
"I had been to Northern Ireland before during my playing days and for broadcasting. Those times were generally for work so I wasn't able to put my feet up and enjoy the place or take it all in."
He added: "This time I was here for only a couple of days but I still managed to put a lot into that short time and doing things like paddleboarding for the first time like, which was amazing.
"Everyone I met too was just so lovely and welcoming so the local people really made the experience for me."
Ugo, who is dad to two girls, Phoenix, aged five and two-year-old Ruby, said the experience also gave him a new perspective.
"While it was a great experience, it was also a period of reflection and made me realise that you do need to make time for yourself and slow things down," he said.
"A friend of mine always says 'look up' because too much of the time as humans we have our heads down, we're on our phones or it's a race of getting from A to B so actually being able to appreciate what's around us at a slower pace was exactly what the experience was."
In episode one of B&B By The Sea, Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas is first to arrive at the Victorian guesthouse.
Thinking she will be able to take a break from her hectic schedule, the Queen of Latin is quickly put to work on a pig farm in Bushmills, learns how to make pottery.
She also slips on her apron to help chef Alex whip up a delicious meal for guests using the best of local produce.
In episode two, Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meaden has a unique connection to the sea which makes this a very personal visit for the TV star who has never visited Northern Ireland - or cooked a meal - before.
The next visitor to the B&B is television presenter and renowned Maître d' Fred Siriex who has worked in some of the world’s best hotels and restaurants and is keen to lend his hospitality skills to the B&B team.
Fred is set an important challenge to find the best local tipple to compliment a special custard. He also visits the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and tests his sausage-making skills with a local butcher in Portstewart.
Later in the series, TV legend and Northern Ireland native Gloria Hunniford is back on home soil to meet an award-winning flock of sheep in Macosquin and to help Alex in the kitchen with a spot of baking.
Other guests of the series include Paralympian swimmer Ellie Simmonds, musician and radio host Cerys Matthews, Britain’s fastest ever sprinter Linford Christie, football legend Neil Razor Ruddock, former soap stars Nina Wadia and Adam Woodyatt and Hollyoaks actor Richard Blackwood.
B&B By The Sea will be available on the BBC iPlayer after the first episode airs on BBC One Northern Ireland this Friday, 25 November at 7.30pm. The 15 part series, a co-commission with BBC Daytime, will also be broadcast to audiences across the UK in the New Year.
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