大象传媒

Comedy icon Alexei Sayle takes his final trip in this series of train journeys across Gt. Britain as he travels from London to Berwick on Tweed.

Alexei鈥檚 mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers, in a quest for conversations with strangers that will reveal their lives, thoughts, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the interests of the great British travelling public. There鈥檚 hilarity, humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets ex-teacher Christina, who is returning to Yorkshire after being scared of taking on such a long journey to London - especially the perils of travelling on the underground - but happily found a knight in shining armour to help her at King's Cross station. Alexei also meets train manager Steven who, apart from working on the railway, has carved out a budding career as a playwright; Sally, who spent 24 years in the Army and now works as a philanthropy manager helping a leading cancer charity to raise money for its work; Rahul and Priya, who are heading for Scotland on a short break sightseeing - and tasting whiskey and chocolate; Philomena and Mark who describe the delights of their home town of Dunbar to Alexei; Meg, who was at the start of the computer revolution, demonstrating and programming some of the first office computers; and Gemma who works on the railway, but also has a passion for beauty pageants.

A Ride production for 大象传媒 Radio 4