Showing results by author "Michael Portillo" in All Categories

Great Continental Railway Journeys is now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo, and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe using George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

History is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history's best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten events that augment our understanding and shift our perspective.

Journalist and broadcaster Michael Portillo has always been fascinated by the past. A former politician and history graduate, he has presented several TV documentaries, including Portillo's Empire Journey and Great British Railway Journeys. Now, in these fascinating radio programmes, he turns the spotlight on World War One and Two, examining the cultural, political and economic upheaval surrounding these devastating global conflicts.

Portillo's Hidden History of Britain presents a compelling and wonderfully evocative history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned buildings. The chapters will cover a variety of historical themes: Crime and Punishment, Health and Medicine, Defence and Warfare, Manufacturing Industry, Transport and Communication, and Entertainment and Leisure. Using a combination of his own investigations and archive research, plus memories and quotations from the contributors he interviewed for the series, Michael will explain what the buildings were used for and by whom.

John Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten them.

In a parliamentary career spanning over 20 years, Michael Portillo served as a Conservative MP and held numerous Cabinet posts. Few people are better placed to comment on politics than him, and in these thought-provoking programmes, he gives us his take on the development of democracy and contemporary political theory.