Former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo reveals his complicated Spanish roots. His father was a professor of law and a poet at Salamanca University who joined the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War but refused to carry arms: he was not prepared to run the risk of killing one of his brothers, all six of whom fought for France. Exiled from Spain, Portillo senior longed to return home and many years later he did so, only to succumb to Alzheimer's disease.

Making good use of Spain's comprehensive rail network, Michael Portillo relives his family's troubled past. In Madrid he is guest of honour at a Sunday lunch attended by scores of relatives. Indeed, wherever he goes in Spain there are uncles and cousins ready to remember his father, who by general consent was a good man but a dreamer. The Portillos may have been divided by war but blood turns out to be a lot thicker than water. Show less