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Waterloo to Regent's Park

Michael Portillo continues his railway exploration of the postwar Britain of his youth on a journey from London to Cambridge, starting at South Bank.

Michael Portillo continues his railway exploration of the postwar Britain of his youth on a journey from London to Cambridge.

He begins on the capital’s South Bank, where during 1951, a Festival of Britain drew more than eight and a half million visitors to admire fantastical buildings designed to inspire and celebrate the best of British in art, science and industry.

After a spin on the London Eye, built to celebrate the millennium, Michael takes the London Underground to Chelsea to find out about one of the most influential cookery writers of the 20th century, Elizabeth David. In Covent Garden, he learns how Vidal Sassoon’s classic bob hairstyle took the fashion world by storm.

Finally, in Regent’s Park, Michael visits a long-awaited mosque, first mooted in 1900 and completed in 1977 to a modernist design by architect Frederick Gibberd.

14 days left to watch

29 minutes

Audio described

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Michael Portillo
Director Cassie Farrell
Series Editor Alison Kreps
Executive Producer John Comerford
Production Company Fremantle

Broadcasts

Steam railway programmes on ±«Óãtv iPlayer

A collection of programmes from the ±«Óãtv archives on the beauty of steam locomotives.