Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 28th April 2025)

Loughton to Audley End. Series 16, episode 16. Michael Portillo embarks on a journey around Essex. He starts out in the ancient woodland of Epping Forest and visits a historic London Transport signal cabin in Epping which has been preserved by enthusiasts. He then visits the home of Harlow’s chief architect Frederic Gibberd, who talks about his plans for the town, before reaching Audley End, where he sees a miniature railway and learns of Audley End House’s role as a secret wartime military school.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 29th April 2025)

Romford to the Blackwater Estuary. Series 16, episode 17. Michael Portillo’s exploration of Essex continues in Romford. He arrives on the London Overground’s Liberty Line to visit a state-of-the-art rail operating centre and discovers how signallers and operators control the movements of over 4,000 trains a day. On the River Blackwater, he takes a trip to the Ross Revenge ship, home to Radio Caroline since the 1980’s.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 30th April 2025)

Chelmsford to Tollesbury. Series 16, episode 18. Michael Portillo’s exploration of Essex reaches Chelmsford, where the city’s bishop tells her story of escape from Iran after the Islamic revolution of 1979. He visits the historic riverside town of Maldon, where he learns about a medieval battle and handles a rare Viking sword. Michael finishes this leg of his Essex journey in the coastal village of Tollesbury, with its strong maritime heritage and marshy landscape.

Race Across the World (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 30th April 2025) ** PICK OF THE WEEK **

The teams set out on their journey to the second checkpoint in Sanya, one of China’s most southerly cities, located on Hainan Island. To get there, the teams must choose between city-hopping down the coast of the East China Sea or venturing inland on a more rural route that takes in some of China’s most impressive landscapes but it’s a race against time as a fast-approaching typhoon threatens to stop all ferries to the island.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 1st May 2025)

Witham to Saffron Walden. Series 16, episode 19. Michael Portillo arrives in the Essex market town of Witham, then heads off to country house Terling Place, before visiting two medieval barns that are thought to be the oldest timber framed structures in England. In Braintree, Michael learns about the town’s wool and silk industries, then views a depository of thousands of silk patterns in the Warner and Sons’ archive.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 2nd May 2025)

Colchester to Chappel and Wakes Colne. Series 16, episode 20. Michael Portillo’s exploration of Essex draws to a close as he visits Colchester, first mentioned in AD 77 and proudly claims to be Britain’s oldest recorded town. He learns about the rebellion in AD 60 by warrior queen Boudica against the Romans and visits the Norman castle, which was built on top of the foundations of the Temple of Claudius. He finishes his tour of the county by driving an old Intercity 125 high-speed train through the picturesque countryside.

Beyond Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 2nd May 2025)

When nurse Lucy vanishes on her way to work, suspicion falls on Josh Woods – Kelby’s rival. However, after Josh receives a chilling voicemail, the team starts to suspect that something far more sinister is at play. In the recording, Lucy can be heard shouting ‘devil” followed by a beastly growl. Could the legend of the Devil’s Hump hold a vital clue to solving her disappearance? As the case intensifies, Humphrey finds himself torn between the personal and professional. With Rosie’s birthday fast approaching, he and Martha are determined to throw her the perfect party. Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton star.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 21st April 2025)

Shrewsbury to Telford. Series 16, episode 11. Michael Portillo begins a tour of the Midlands with a journey from Shrewsbury to Telford. Armed with a longbow, Michael re-enacts the Battle of Shrewsbury, where the rebel Harry Hotspur challenged King Henry IV for the throne of England in 1403. He then marvels at the gothic beauty of Shrewsbury Cathedral before riding the Telford Steam Railway’s flagship locomotive along the revived Wellington to Craven Arms line.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 22nd April 2025)

Ironbridge to Coseley. Series 16, episode 12. In Ironbridge Gorge on the River Severn, Michael Portillo explores this hotbed of industrial innovation and takes a ride on a replica of the world’s first steam locomotive. He also investigates the rich heritage of the Black Country in Wolverhampton with a lesson in ‘yam yam’. In Coseley, Michael discovers that one of the area’s most successful industries, brickmaking, continues at Ketley Brick.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 23rd April 2025)

Dudley to West Bromwich. Series 16, episode 13. Michael Portillo boards a barge on the Dudley Canal and travels through the second longest navigable tunnel in the UK, while marvelling at a vast cave known as the Singing Cavern. At nearby Wren’s Nest, a former limestone quarry that’s now part of Unesco’s Black Country Geopark, he discovers an ancient seabed. In the town of Smethwick, Michael speaks to the son of 1960’s anti-racist activist.

Race Across the World (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 23rd April 2025) ** PICK OF THE WEEK + NEW SERIES **

Reality game show narrated by John Hannah in which pairs of competitors race across the globe without getting on a plane or being able to use mobile phones and credit cards. The five pairs – Fin and Sioned, Brian and Melvyn, Yin and Gaz, Elizabeth and Letitia and Caroline and Tom – start their race across Asia to the southernmost tip of India, at the Great Wall of China and head to their first check point in the village of Huangling.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 24th April 2025)

Birmingham New Street to Wednesbury. Series 16, episode 14. Michael Portillo heads to Birmingham’s Curzon Street for a tour of the HS2 terminus, which is still under construction. He also visits Firmin and Sons, the oldest private manufacturing firm in the UK, which dates back to 1655 and is still making buttons for the royal family and the military.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 25th April 2025)

Solihull to Birmingham International. Series 16, episode 15. On the final leg of his tour of the Midlands, Michael Portillo travels to the Land Rover factory in Solihull, which produced the first model in the 1940s. In Hall Green, he visits the childhood neighbourhood of author JRR Tolkien and learns how the peaceful rural setting of Sarehole Mill provided inspiration for the fantasy world of Middle Earth in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Beyond Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 25th April 2025)

As the harvest ends, Stella and George Ellis follow their long-held tradition of hanging a corn doll to mark its close. However, this simple ritual takes a darker turn when the doll mysteriously falls and a figure dressed as the mythical Cornman strikes. With their milk ruined and their hay set ablaze, the Ellises are pushed to the brink. Meanwhile, Martha and Humphrey embark on a new chapter as foster parents when Rosie begins her first day at Shipton Abbott Primary, while Anne takes a bold step to embrace life fully. Drama, starring Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton, with guest star Caroline Quentin.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119