The work of Pewsey framemakers P R Elletson will be seen by thousands of art lovers when a portrait of Falklands War veteran Simon Weston OBE goes on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Mr Weston was nominated by viewers of The One Show as the public figure who most deserved to have his picture hung in the National Portrait Gallery and was painted by royal artist Nicky Philipps.

Philip Elletson was chosen by the gallery to frame the painting after they learned he has worked with Ms Philipps before, including on a portrait of the Queen which now hangs in the throne room.

Mr Elletson, who has been framing for more than 35 years, said: “This is the first time the public have been involved in choosing a picture for the National Portrait Gallery so it’s amazing to be part of.

“The National Gallery usually like their own people but on this occasion we persuaded them to go out of town. They liked the samples I produced.”

On average a frame takes eight to nine days to produce but this took five people three weeks to complete.

Mr Elletson said: “The frame looks incredibly simple but it’s in fact quite a complex thing to do.

“It’s made out of pear wood and it’s got a white gold slip on the inside so it’s a very elegant frame.”

The portrait will be unveiled by presenters Fiona Bruce and Dan Snow this evening.

A TV crew from the BBC filmed part of the frame making for a documentary, The People’s Portrait, which will be aired next month. Mr Elletson said: “It was quite stressful because you had to talk about what you were doing and then you had to redo it so they could shoot it from different angles.

“I was quite honoured because the producer, Tim Dunn, has won so many awards for his work.”