DOCUMENTARY

ITV, 9pm

“Come on lovely ones,” says Joanna as she begins the last leg of her tour.

She’s talking to the four camels that are ambling after her in the desert. She really is that polite. She’s in Uzbekistan, en route to a 2,500-year-old Silk road fortress, following in the footsteps of old trading caravans.

Nearby she sees a dance in honour of a special locally made hat, and visits a town notorious for its involvement in trading slaves. Later on, Joanna boards a Spanish-built high speed train to Samarkand, a place famous for its bread that’s said to last for months.

Continuing her route towards the Chinese border through Kyrgyzstan, she takes in stunning mountains and lakes, gets caught up in a flash mob, learns about the tradition of eagle hunting and takes an unusual sauna in an old Soviet-era truck.

This is a gorgeous tour of a little-known corner of the world with a fascinating history. MOVING Nick boost for dad Ben