POLITICAL commentator and former defence secretary Michael Portillo lets off steam in Swanage this week.

He will appear on television – against the backdrop of Swanage’s historic steam railway – as part of the documentary Great British Railway Journeys.

This BBC show follows the former Tory MP as he takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw’s Victorian Railway Guidebook under his arm, in a continuing quest to uncover what of Bradshaw’s Britain remains and how the railways have shaped the nation’s psyche.

The Swanage episode, to be aired on Friday, was filmed last summer. The first episode of Mr Portillo’s five-part journey from Windsor to Portland was aired on Monday and the show will be shown nightly.

“In 1840 one man transformed travel in Britain,” said Mr Portillo. “His name was George Bradshaw and his railway guide inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks. Stop by stop he told them where to travel, what to see and where to stop.”

Swanage Railway commercial manager Martin Payne explained how the opening of the ten-mile branch line from Wareham in 1885, some time after Bradshaw’s guidebook was published, changed Swanage from a quarrying and fishing community into a Victorian and Edwardian seaside resort.

He said: “Purbeck stone was exported from Swanage by train while Purbeck ball clay was exported by rail from Norden and Furzebrook, north of Corfe Castle, to the Midlands’ potteries.”

Mr Payne added that everyone connected to Swanage Railway was “delighted” to help the BBC make a small part of the documentary, now in its third series.

“The episode featuring the Swanage Railway was filmed during the summer and looks fantastic,” he said.

“Seeing those awesome Medieval ruins of Corfe Castle from our steam train makes a stunning and really striking visual for television.”

The award-winning Swanage Railway operates some 2,800 trains a year, mostly steam hauled. It is run by around 500 volunteers, assisted by more than 30 paid staff.

Friday’s show is scheduled to start at 6.30pm on BBC2.