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