Celebrity chef James Martin opened the London Boat Show this morning. Organisers are hoping that the lightfooted runner-up of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing will get the show off to a good start and have their fingers crossed that visitor numbers will be up.

The show moved to the ExCel centre in London’s Docklands two years ago and after a fantastic turnout in the first year there was a marked drop in attendees in 2005.

Last year’s poor figures were atributed to poor weather, road closures and economic worries.

The show runs until 15 January with late opening on Thursday 12 January.

For details on ticket prices and how to get there log on to londonboatshow.com