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Great British Railway Journeys
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
Production
Executive producers
Charlie Bunce (Series 1–2)
John Comerford (Series 3–6)
Producers
Fiona Caldwell (Series 1–2)
Jay Taylor (Series 3)
Michelle Heeley (Series 4)
Alison Kreps (Series 5–6)
Running time
30 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production companies
Talkback Thames (Series 1–2)
Boundless (Series 3–11)
Naked (Series 12–13)
Original release
Network
BBC Two
BBC HD (2010–2013)
BBC Two HD (2014–)
Release
4 January 2010 (2010-01-04) – present
Related
Great Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo (2014)
Great American Railroad Journeys
Great Indian Railway Journeys
Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys
Great Canadian Railway Journeys
Great Australian Railway Journeys
Great Asian Railway Journeys
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)
Michael Portillo during filming at Taunton station in 2017
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 14 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).
^Ratcliffe, Roger (30 March 2014). "How I saved Settle-Carlisle line". The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
^"Author digs deep into how historic line was saved". Cumberland & Westmorland Herald. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
^"Great British Railway Journeys". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
^"Michael Portillo rides the rails again". Wales on Sunday. 27 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
^Clay, Jeremy (6 January 2010). "TV review: Great British Railway Journeys". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
^Portillo, Michael (15 October 2020). "Michael Portillo: 'I'm not even that passionate about trains'". The Times. London. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
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