Great British Railway Journeys 2023: Yorkshire stations route from Bradford to Hebden Bridge to be featured in BBC Two show

The Northern network will star on the BBC Two show where TV presenter Michael Portillo, who, along with his Bradshaw’s guide, explores the UK by rail.

The series will return for its 14th season and two episodes will feature Northern’s scenic stations and routes.

The Urmston to New Islington episode will be the first episode of the season, showing Michael’s journey through Greater Manchester, and will air on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

The second episode will show the route from Bradford to Hebden Bridge and will air on Friday, June 23, 2023 at 6.30pm. It features Bradford, Shipley and Hebden Bridge.

Chief operating officer at Northern, Tricia Williams, said: “It is so wonderful to see the Northern network recognised in the latest series of the Great British Railway Journeys.

“I’m so proud of our diverse routes, and it is brilliant to see it shared with a wider audience. I hope our customers keep their eyes peeled for some familiar sights.”

Journalist, broadcaster and former Conservative politician known for various railway documentaries including Great Continental Railway Journeys, will continue his postwar exploration of north west England in the second episode of the show.

In Centenary Square, Bradford, he will meet Bradford’s literary giant JB Priestley, author of An Inspector Calls.

In the Bradford Royal Infirmary, Michael will trace the hospital’s pioneering history of chemotherapy and learn all about how new drugs preventing the spread of cancer are being developed at Bradford’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics.

In the north of Bradford, at Shipley station, he will also explore a nature reserve in the middle of a car park, home to more than 14 species of butterfly and moth.

The Calder Valley line will take Michael to the picturesque station at Hebden Bridge, once a mill town in decline but today is popular.