A high-profile marine biologist is giving a special talk for Sidmouth Sea Fest.

This year's public events on Saturday, May 22 have been cancelled because Covid regulations would have made it impossible to generate the event's 'wonderful community atmosphere' – read more here.

But the spirit of the festival is very much alive, with marine-themed activities taking place that can be experienced without public gatherings.

The organisers are particularly pleased to have arranged for Helen Scales – a marine biologist, diver, surfer, broadcaster and best-selling author – to give a virtual talk on May 22, in conjunction with Winstones Books.

Her talk, at 7pm, is called The Brilliant Abyss and 'tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea – how we imagine, explore and exploit it'.

The description of the talk says: "The deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. For centuries, storytellers have filled it with imaginary monsters, and now scientists are looking there to find the real, bizarre species, and to understand more of how this world of ours works. In this golden era of discovery, revolutionary studies in the deep are rewriting the very notion of life on earth.

"The Brilliant Abyss eloquently and passionately brings to life the majesty and mystery of the deep sea. This is the single biggest habitable space on the planet. It's home to fantastic creatures — from furry, dancing crabs to glowing worms swimming elegant pirouettes — that have all evolved unique ways to survive in extreme conditions of super-high pressure, little food or company, and permanent darkness. Revealing the hidden secrets of the deep is illuminating not only more about life on earth, but hints at the potential for life on other planets."

Helen Scales has been featured on BBC Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage, talking about the mysteries of the deep with Robin Ince and Professor Brian Cox, and has donated an imaginary tank of seahorses to The Museum of Curiosity, also on Radio 4. She's a regular writer for BBC Focus and BBC Wildlife magazines. Among her radio documentaries she's explored the dream of living underwater and followed the trail of endangered snails around the world and back again.

Helen's previous book, Spirals in Time, is a Guardian bestseller. It was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Biology book prize, picked as a book of the year by The Economist, Nature, The Times and the Guardian and was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.

To find out more about the talk, and buy tickets, click here.

Other Sea Fest events on May 22 include an art installation in the community garden at the Ham, featuring designs of fishes painted by Sidmouth schoolchildren, and the release of film and audio recordings, with a performance by the Sea Fest Community Choir.

For more information, follow the Sidmouth Sea Fest Facebook page.