Michael Portillo begins his new series – modestly titled Michael Portillo’s 200 Years of the Railways – standing atop the first British train , Stephenson’s Locomotion No 1 (well, a working replica), nostrils flared in the sunshine as he lives out his boyhood dreams.

Obviously, it had to be someone’s 200 years of the railway because we wouldn’t watch an anniversary series presented by, simply, a knowledgeable railway historian. And initially, the choice of Portillo as host seems fine – he’s the BBC’s go-to train guy after umpteen series of his track-based travelogues for BBC Two. But this first episode very quickly descends into a dry history lesson, albeit nicely filmed, with very little in the way of personality coming from Portillo himself. Isn’t that his job here?

Television

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