This article contains promotional content. (March 2019) |
Great British Railway Journeys | |
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Genre | Travel documentary |
Presented by | Michael Portillo |
Composer | Jon Wygens |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 15 |
No. of episodes | 245 |
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Producers |
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Running time | 30 minutes per episode (approx.) |
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Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 4 January 2010 present | –
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Great British Railway Journeys is a 2010–present BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989.[1][2] The documentary was first broadcast in 2010 on BBC Two and has returned annually for a current total of 15 series.
The series features Portillo travelling around the railway networks of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, referring to Bradshaw's Guide and comparing how the various destinations have changed since; initially, he used an 1840s copy, but in later series, he used other editions.[3][4][5] Portillo has said that sometimes he regrets the name of the programme as it is "really about history", and that whilst he likes trains, he "wouldn't say [he was] passionate about them".[6]
Portillo has presented 8 other series with a similar format: Great Continental Railway Journeys (7 series; 2012–2020), Great American Railroad Journeys (4 series; 2016–2020), Great Indian Railway Journeys (2018), Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys and Great Canadian Railway Journeys (broadcast consecutively in January 2019), Great Australian Railway Journeys (2019), Great Asian Railway Journeys (2020), and Great Coastal Railway Journeys (3 series; 2022–2024).