Michael Portillo begins a new series of railway journeys through 1930s Britain, armed with an interwar Bradshaw's guide. He explores an unmistakably modern era of glamorous locomotives, cinema and dance halls but also a time of high unemployment and widespread poverty, when storm clouds gathered across the Channel.

Beginning just outside Newcastle in Jarrow, Michael uncovers the desperation which led 200 men to march 300 miles to Westminster in order to petition the government for work.

In Newcastle, Michael admires the city's iconic railway bridge before heading to Byker, where he discovers a new innovation in greyhound racing. Tips for picking a winner lead to a photo finish.

There's a visit to Durham Cathedral to see the bones of the Father of English History and a chance to fire up the fryer at a coal-powered fish and chip shop frozen in time.

In Spennymoor, Michael meets the son of a Durham miner who became one of the most famous 20th-century artists of the North East. Show less