Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK – he actually talks to his fellow passengers.

He shares their funny and moving moments, their favourite jokes, their tales of weddings, work, funerals and holidays, and explores the lives of strangers by simply asking the questions that we might want answered – if only we were there too.

Along with the unplanned conversations, Alexei gives us his reaction to everything he can see as it passes his carriage window. Perhaps it’s the stunning coastline north of Newcastle or the remains of Britain’s industrial heritage as he chugs through the Midlands. After all, there must be a little bit of Alexei’s DNA devoted to the railways – his father was a railway guard and Alexei travelled thousands of miles by train as a child.