Michael Portillo – författare

It is now over a decade since the much-loved Great British Railway Journeys series set off on its incredible run discovering the cultural, social and engineering landscape of the United Kingdom through the prism of George Bradshaw''s Handbook to rail travel. Veteran politician and ex cabinet minister Michael Portillo has since presented eleven seasons of this ever-popular show on BBC Two, covering every part of the existing train network in Britain, as well as others that were closed as a result of the Beeching Report in 1963. Across a decade of these journeys, Portillo has celebrated how every corner of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was opened up by the railway line as a result of the Industrial Revolution, thus giving fans a unique insight into our shared past of train travel since the Victorian era. With the anniversary, this new collection will celebrate Michael''s top fifty journeys from the hundreds he has covered, adding more insight and analysis to some of the greatest railway lines, stations, bridges, viaducts and tunnels the Victorians built to create the world we now live in. From Paddington Station to the Clifton Suspension Bridge; the Southend Pier line to the milk wagons departing from Blake Hall Station. An unrivalled narrative to be treasured. Greatest British Railway Journeys is both a celebratory and charming ride through our country''s beloved history - all from the unique position of a train seat.

Michael Portillo uncovers the forgotten events concealed by famous moments in historyHistory is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history''s best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten events that augment our understanding and shift our perspective.Reappraising milestones such as the Spanish Armada, the French Revolution, the First World War and the Great Depression, he probes our selective amnesia, asking what we have mythologised, and what we''ve ignored. Was Alfred the Great really a bold English hero, or an Anglo-Saxon spin doctor? Why is Georgian England remembered for its elegant architecture and regency refinement when this period of history was full of riots and political strife? And could the Bengal famine of 1943, a horrific event in British India that cost at least 1.5 million lives, have been avoided?Talking to leading historians and experts, Portillo peels back the layers of history to uncover the uncomfortable truths and murky, ambiguous stories behind iconic events such as the ''Glorious Revolution'' of 1688, the struggle for Indian independence and the Boston Tea Party. He also reveals a Suffragette plot to assassinate Herbert Asquith; shows how a disastrous attempt at overseas colonisation led to the 1707 Act of Union merging England and Scotland; and takes a look at the real losers of the Battle of Trafalgar - the Spanish.Not revisionist, but restorative, this fascinating series challenges the orthodox view of history without glossing over its complexities, presenting a surprising, thought-provoking re-evaluation of our past and reminding us that the events we choose to remember are not always those that are the most significant.Production creditsPresented by Michael PortilloProduced by Julia Adamson, Tom Alban, Marya Burgess, Joanne Cayford, James Cook, James Crawford, Neil George, Laurence Grissell, Julia Johnson, Roger Mahony, Neil McCarthy, Paula McGinley and Philip SellarsConsultant: Chris Williams of the Open UniversityFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:Series 1The Battle of Mers-el-Kebir 16 May 2005The Spanish Armada 23 May 2005The French Revolution 6 June 2005Series 2Jack the Ripper 27 November 2006The First World War 4 December 2006The 1945 Labour Government 11 December 2006Series 3On Suffragettes 24 December 2007The Darien Scheme 31 December 2007The Bengal Famine 7 January 2008The Battle of Trafalgar 14 January 2008Series 4The League of Nations 15 December 2008Alfred the Great 22 December 2008Series 5Chamberlain and ''Peace for our Time'' 1938 14 December 2009The Hanseatic League 21 December 2009The Glorious Revolution 28 December 2009Series 6King Harold 15 November 2010The Violent Side of Indian Independence 29 November 2010The Great Depression in the USA 6 December 2010Series 7The Real Boston Tea Party, 1773 13 November 2011Police Strike 20 November 2011The English Armada 4 December 2011Series 8The Georgian Façade 11 June 2012© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Major public figures go back to their beginnings and uncover where they really startedJohn Wilson (acclaimed arts and culture reporter and journalist, and presenter of Front Row, Newsnight Review and Pick of the Week) meets up with a variety of public figures from such diverse fields as food, mathematics, politics, writing and music, and takes them back to the influential schools, teachers, and early workplaces they may have forgotten, but which have not forgotten them. His guests include the first Black trade union leader, Lord Bill Morris; classical violinist Tasmin Little; the late restaurateur and television chef, Gary Rhodes; Lord Digby Jones, former Minister of State for Trade and Investment; the late Women''s Prize and Costa Book Award winning author, Andrea Levy; veteran journalist, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo, and many more. The locations too are widely varied and richly formative - from car component manufacturers and specialist vocational institutions to grammar and private schools. Top of the Class is a fascinating look beneath the usual façade of a public figure, perfect for anyone wanting to see the human face behind a successful life story, as well as the teachers, mentors, best friends and rivals who helped them grow into the person they became.Episode guideFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:Bill Morris 28 July 2008Tasmin Little 4 August 2008Lauren Child 11 August 2008Gary Rhodes 18 August 2008 Marcus du Sautoy 28 December 2010Rachel Portman 18 January 2011Lord Digby Jones 25 January 2011 Michael Portillo 19 July 2011Andrea Levy 26 July 2011Production creditsPresented by John Wilson Produced by Sarah Taylor © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Specially selected history series presented by Michael Portillo, exploring the most significant events before, during and after the First and Second World WarsJournalist and broadcaster Michael Portillo has always been fascinated by the past. A former politician and history graduate, he has presented several TV documentaries, including Portillo''s Empire Journey and Great British Railway Journeys. Now, in these fascinating radio programmes, he turns the spotlight on World War One and Two, examining the cultural, political and economic upheaval surrounding these devastating global conflicts.1913: The Year Before sees him challenging the notion that the Great War was responsible for seismic shifts in British society. Over 10 episodes, he looks at themes including the suffrage movement, the Irish question, the decline of the liberal party and the arts, and argues that to a great extent, Britain was already in the process of transforming itself by 1913.The 2-part series The Great War of Words finds Portillo revealing how our understanding of World War One has been distorted by historians, politicians and cultural commentators. He analyses Germany''s invasion of neutral Belgium in August 1914, showing how it transformed Britain''s war into a moral cause; and considers how arguments over the origins of the war and the issue of war guilt evolved into a fierce, high-stakes battle for meaning. A follow-up episode, The Great War of Words: Peace before Annihilation?, centres around the factors that prevented peace breaking out between 1914 and 1918, and the attempts that were made to achieve it.In four episodes from Things We Forgot to Remember, he delves into the First World War and the interwar years, reflecting on the Somme and the victories of 1918, the failings and successes of the League of Nations, the 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin and Neville Chamberlain''s notorious 1938 declaration of ''peace for our time''.The aerial bombardment of Britain is the subject of The Blitz, in which Portillo chairs a discussion with leading historians about the strategy and legacy of Nazi Germany''s decision to bomb and destroy key British cities. And in a concluding programme, Things We Forgot to Remember: Morgenthau Plan and post-war Germany, he recalls the short-lived precursor to the Marshall Plan, which aimed to destroy German industry and turn the country into an agrarian ''pastoral'' society.Production creditsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:1913: The Year BeforeThe Long Summer 10 June 2013Women''s Rebellion 11 June 2013The Irish Question 12 June 2013The Tides of War 13 June 2013Cultural Upheaval 14 June 2013Labour Relations & the Triple Alliance 17 June 2013Poverty 18 June 2013Politics and the Tory Gamble 19 June 2013The Empire 20 June 2013The Great Change 21 June 2013Produced by Tom AlbanThe Great War of WordsEpisode 1 4 February 2014Episode 2 11 February 2014The Great War of Words: Peace before Annihilation? 28 April 2015Produced by Mark BurmanThings We Forgot to RememberFirst World War 4 December 2006The League of Nations 15 December 2008Jesse Owens and the Nazi Olympics 22 November 2010Chamberlain and ''Peace for our Time'' 1938 14 December 2009Morgenthau Plan and post-war Germany 4 June 2012Produced by Tom Alban, Joanne Cayford and Neil McCarthyThe Blitz 8 September 2010With Juliet Gardiner, Sir Ian Kershaw and Terry Charman© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Michael Portillo presents these specially selected shows exploring the history of democracy and the modern political system

In a parliamentary career spanning over 20 years, Michael Portillo served as a Conservative MP and held numerous Cabinet posts. Few people are better placed to comment on politics than him, and in these thought-provoking programmes, he gives us his take on the development of democracy and contemporary political theory.

In the three-part series Democracy on Trial, Portillo investigates the difficult and dangerous global journey taken by this fragile ideal over 2,500 years, and the surprisingly tenuous grip it holds upon the world today. From Athens in the fifth century BC to the present day, he examines the effectiveness of a form of government we take for granted, and analyses its rise, fall and future.

For Whom the Division Bell Tolled sees him looking at the history and peculiarities of the back-bencher, asking historians whether these traits have been present since the very first Parliaments in the 1300s. Across three episodes, he traces the origins of the back-bench revolt, recalls the good and noble works of back-benchers from the past, and wonders whether those on the back bench have always been more interested in keeping their jobs than changing the world.

In The Right Stuff, Portillo considers the lasting influence of the author and philosopher Ayn Rand, questioning whether her work remains a blueprint for those on the political right. Talking to contemporaries and critics, he probes the origins and impact of Rand''s writings, and assesses how her controversial ideas relate to the current political landscape.

Capitalism on Trial finds him pondering years of bailouts, stagnating growth and market instability, and asking whether free-market capitalism is looking a little tarnished. Over two programmes, he talks to leading thinkers including Amartya Sen, Will Hutton and Gillian Tett as he weighs up the costs and benefits of the economic system that governs our lives.

Finally, in Things We Forgot to Remember: The 1945 Labour Government, Portillo looks back at Clement Attlee''s postwar government, querying how radical their agenda really was and how much our collective memory of it is due to myth-making by subsequent Labour administrations.

Production credits

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:

Democracy on Trial

Episode 1 11 May 2010

Episode 2 18 May 2010

Episode 3 25 May 2010

Produced by Philip Sellars and Julia Johnson

For Whom the Division Bell Tolled

Episode 1 14 May 2008

Episode 2 21 May 2008

Episode 3 28 May 2008

Produced by Philip Sellars

The Right Stuff 11 November 2008

Produced by Owen McFadden

Capitalism on Trial

Episode 1 27 September 2011

Episode 2 4 October 2011

With Amartya Sen, Will Hutton, Ha-Joon Chang, Gillian Tett, Nigel Lawson and Hernando De Soto

Produced by Julia Johnson

Things We Forgot to Remember: The 1945 Labour Government 6 May 2007

With Denis Healey, Peter Carrington and Tony Benn

Produced by Julia Adamson

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.