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Series 15 (2024)

Documentary series in which Michael Portillo travels the country by train.

Release date: 2024-03-18

Director: Ben Rowland

Episodes (15):

1. Denham to Swindon

Beginning at London Marylebone, the last great Victorian railway terminus to be built in the capital, Michael Portillo embarks on a postwar exploration of Britain’s southern counties.

2. Chippenham to Yeovil

Michael Portillo joins Navy Wings pilots for a spectacular close formation flight in the skies over Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton and visits the magnificent Elizabethan mansion of Longleat.

3. Swanage to Portchester

Michael Portillo reaches England’s south coast to continue his exploration of postwar Britain, beginning on the steam-powered Swanage Railway in Dorset.

4. Havant to Guildford

Michael Portillo reaches Havant, where the Scalextric factory was located, and Haslemere, the surprise birthplace of a musical phenomenon: the plastic recorder.

5. Wokingham to Heathrow

Michael goes on a tour around Heathrow Airport, taking an eerie walk around the mothballed Terminal 1 building and ending up atop the iconic 87.5 metre control tower.

6. Loch Lomond to Kelvinbridge

Michael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes.

7. Glasgow to Cumbernauld

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there.

8. Shawlands to Livingston

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.

9. Edinburgh to Queensferry

At the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey.

10. Dundee to Loch of the Lowes

Michael’s rail journey through post-war Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.

11. Liverpool to Uttoxeter

Michael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, visiting the strikingly contemporary Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and visits the former home of artist and poet Adrian Henri.

12. Derby to Nottingham

Michael Portillo reaches the jet age in the Derby suburb of Peartree, where he tours the engineering colossus Rolls-Royce.

13. Lincoln to York

Michael Portillo’s postwar journey from Merseyside to Teesside resumes at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, where England’s oldest canal, the Fossdyke, meets the city of Lincoln.

14. York to Skipton

Michael Portillo’s journey finds him in York, a paradise for rail enthusiasts. He discovers the gardens at Harlow Carr in Harrogate and checks into the headquarters of Yorkshire Tea.

15. Northallerton to Chester-Le-Street

Michael Portillo confronts a detachment of Gurkhas, produces a fine heritage cheese and discovers a monster cracker, which is key to making plastic.

Cast

Michael Portillo

as Self - Presenter

Crew - click here to expand

Ben Rowland - Director, John Comerford - Executive Producer, Jon Wygens - Music