''Trainspotting Live'' is a live television programme broadcast on BBC Four over three nights from 11 July 2016. It followed on from similar live programmes on the BBC such as '' Airport Live'' and '' Volcano Live''.

Programme

The show was presented by

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its la ...

Hannah Fry Hannah Fry (born February 1984) is a British mathematician, author, and radio and television presenter. She is Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. She studies the patterns of human behaviour, ...

Dick Strawbridge Lieutenant Colonel Richard Francis Strawbridge, MBE (born 3 September 1959) is a British television personality, engineer and former army officer. He is often referred to as "Colonel Dick". Early life The third of seven children of Jennife ...

and Tim Dunn from the

Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backers ...

in Didcot. ''Trainspotting Live'' also featured pre-recorded reports and interviews as well as the real-time broadcast. Live cameras showed railway activity on the nearby Great Western Main Line. During the broadcast, viewers were asked to send in footage of their recent spots, and were tasked with spotting a specific locomotive as well as a rare train, which was nicknamed "The Holy Grail of the Rail".

Episode list

Viewing figures from the

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compil ...

(BARB).

Criticism and controversy

In the first episode, Peter Snow mistakenly said that a five-month-old video of Class 66s on delivery was live. This resulted in complaints from the general public and as a result the incident made the front pages of '' The Sun'' newspaper. A spokesman from the BBC said that the show had made a mistake in the “excitement of a live broadcast.” In the second episode, Peter Snow mistakenly called an

LNER Thompson/Peppercorn Class K1 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class K1 is a type of 2-6-0 (mogul) steam locomotive designed by Edward Thompson. Thompson preferred a simple two-cylinder design instead of his predecessor Nigel Gresley's three-cylinder one. The ...

No. 62005 an

LMS Black Five The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were numbe ...

. This has angered and annoyed many trainspotters but only got as far as that.

References

External links

* {{BBC programme 2016 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings BBC television documentaries English-language television shows Documentary television series about railway transport History of rail transport in Great Britain Rail transport hobbies

Programme

Episode list

Criticism and controversy

See also

References

External links