Portillo's Hidden History of Britain

Season 2

Former British Secretary of State for Defence Michael Portillo visits abandoned, iconic locations around the UK that were at the centre of relatively unknown historical events but which are not open to the public.

Where to Watch Portillo's Hidden History of Britain • Season 2

5 Episodes

Plastic Surgery Pioneers: Cambridge Military Hospital
E1
Plastic Surgery Pioneers: Cambridge Military HospitalMichael visits the beautiful, forbidding and now abandoned military hospital in the garrison town of Aldershot to uncover the pioneering work of reconstructive surgeons.
Local Heroes: Manchester Fire Station
E2
Local Heroes: Manchester Fire StationIn Manchester, Michael ventures inside the London Road Fire Station, which was decommissioned in 1986 after 80 years' service.
Countdown to WW3
E3
Countdown to WW3Michael Portillo visits a top-secret Cold War stronghold, just a mile from the Cambridge campus where he spent his university years. The bunker, formerly known as RSG-4, was built in 1953 to house 300 local government officials from Cambridgeshire in the event of a nuclear attack. The former politician is also given access to the decommissioned Soviet nuclear submarine U-475 Black Widow - currently moored at Strood on the River Medway - revealing how close the world came to a full-scale nuclear war.
The Palace of Dreams
E4
The Palace of DreamsThe New Victoria in Bradford was Britain's first cinema.
Seaside Escape
E5
Seaside EscapeMichael Portillo explores the history of the British seaside resort. He gets up close and personal with the ghostly skeleton of Brighton's West pier, which has become one of the UK's most well known ruins. He meets Jo Berry, daughter of Conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry who was killed by an IRA bomb at Brighton's Grand Hotel.