New TV series to highlight hidden Underground
LONDON Transport Museum is to reopen its doors in May – and is to be the subject of a new major TV documentary series later in the year.
Visitors to the Covent Garden museum will find refreshed galleries and can explore the award-winning Hidden London exhibition in the Global Gallery, now extended due to popular demand.
A new series of After Dark events will also be on offer, with opportunities for the public to show off their transport trivia knowledge and get creative.
The museum also plans to open its Acton Town depot during May halfterm with a family trail for visitors to follow and the chance to discover fascinating facts about the vehicles on display.
One-way routes and social distancing signage are in place, with sanitiser stations located throughout both venues and an enhanced cleaning regime using anti-viral disinfectant that protects for up to 30 days.
UKTV’s new Secrets of the London Underground documentary, to be aired on the Yesterday channel, will see railway historian Tim Dunn (from The Architecture The Railways Built series) and the museum’s Siddy Holloway explore hidden areas of the Tube.
The pair will explore abandoned tunnels, secret bunkers and hidden staircases which have been concealed from public view for years, and tell the story of London’s most clandestine Underground stations.
Other highlights include a track walk to two different disused stations in the middle of the night, and the exploration of the deepest point of the Tube to a lost station from 1906.
Tim said: “We’ve got special access to places that very few people have been, and I can’t wait to take everyone with us. Expect expertlyguided fact-packed tours around London’s hidden places, plus stories and tales that will surprise and fascinate. This project is a dream come true!”
Siddy added: “We can promise one thing – you’ll never travel on the Tube again without wondering what’s through that door at the end of the platform.”
The documentary has been commissioned for UKTV by deputy director of commissioning Hilary Rosen, ordered by Yesterday channel director Gerald Casey and produced by Brown Bob Productions, with Rob Dersley as executive producer.