New Michael Portillo series heads to BBC

The BBC has commissioned a new series called Travels With Bradshaw, it has announced.

The 20 x 30-minute series, presented by Michael Portillo, will chart the train rides that stretch the length and breadth of Britain.

Portillo will follow in the footsteps of George Bradshaw, who wrote the first national railway timetable and travel guides in the 1840s.

"Some of my earliest memories are of long overnight journeys from a smoky King's Cross to Scotland," said Portillo. "I have never quite lost my excitement at embarking on epic trips, whether at high speed or dawdling along branch lines."

He added: "I enthuse about Victorian stations, tunnels and viaducts and I deeply admire those who built them. It will be a privilege to escort the viewing public as we retrace Bradshaw's footsteps."