Yesterday races back to Brooklands to uncover more Secrets of the Transport Museum

Published: 22/09/2021

Wednesday 22 October – UKTV has recommissioned Secrets of the Transport Museum (10x60’) for its leading factual channel, Yesterday. Produced by Middlechild Productions, the series goes behind the scenes at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey following the skilled and enthusiastic volunteers who work to preserve the array of historic racing cars, motorbikes and aeroplanes that have a permanent home at the museum. The series is again narrated by Sanjeev Bhaskar. 

The first series saw the iconic 1930s Frazer Nash racer repaired just in time for an important race meeting, racing driver Abbie Eaton got to grips with a 100-year-old V12 Delage and the legendary Napier Railton was put through its paces on the racetrack. Also, the museum’s Concorde was saved from the elements, the painstaking restoration of a Wellington Bomber continued, and an infamous two-wheeled TT racer was remade. 

The first series launched with a strong audience of 486k for the opening episode, one of the most successful series launches ever for the channel, and the series as a whole achieved a consolidated average audience of 378k. 

Secrets of the Transport Museum is commissioned for UKTV by senior commissioning editor, Helen Nightingale and ordered by Yesterday channel director, Gerald Casey and deputy director of commissioning, Hilary Rosen. Produced by Middlechild Productions, executive producers are David Sumnall and Andrew Walmsley. The series will be distributed internationally by Passion Distribution. 

UKTV’s Helen Nightingale said, “I can’t wait to get back to Brooklands! There’s so much history, knowledge and enthusiasm there from those passionate experts; and Middlechild do such a great job at capturing that and sharing it with the viewers on screen.”

David Sumnall, executive producer and managing director of Middlechild Productions said, “Brooklands is a truly magical place full of amazing characters and incredible stories so we couldn’t be more excited to be back. To top it off we get to work with the brilliant team at UKTV again. We can’t wait for the Yesterday viewers to see what we’ve been filming!”

Gerald Casey added, “Yesterday viewers loved going behind the scenes and under the bonnets at Brooklands in the first series, so we’re really pleased to be returning for even more repairs and restorations. The sheer history of the place and the dedicated volunteers working to keep the exhibits where they belong – on the track or in the sky – makes this a joy to watch.”   

Secrets of the Transport Museum is in production now and filming at the Brooklands Museum, adhering to all COVID-19 procedures and regulations, and will air on Yesterday, and be available for catch-up on demand on UKTV Play, in 2022. Other recent UKTV Original commissions for Yesterday include, The Architecture the Railways Built, The Secrets of the London Underground, Bangers & Cash, Hornby: A Model World and Scouting for Toys.