Alexei Sayle's Strangers On A Train: Series 1

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 (320kns-m4a/378mb/2hrs45mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 10th July to 14th August 2022

Author, actor and comedy icon, Alexei Sayle begins his travels across the country by rail in the first of a new six part series for Radio 4.

Alexei's mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers in a quest for conversations that reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people talk about what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also tells stories and memories from his career and childhood.

Alexei has a lifelong "ticket to ride" in his DNA. His father was a railway guard and the Sayle family benefitted from free travel in the UK and across Europe. As a boy, Alexei and his family roamed far and wide from the family home in Anfield, Liverpool. At a time when most people thought an exciting trip by train was to Brighton or Blackpool, Alexei travelled thousands of miles to mysterious towns with unpronounceable names in far flung corners of the continent.

In each programme in the series, Alexei embarks on a rail journey, taking a chance on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for Radio 4

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 1. CARDIFF TO PORTSMOUTH (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 10th July 2022

In this first episode, Alexei travels from Cardiff to Portsmouth. Among his many fellow travellers, he meets David who looks after tunnels for a living, Tess who speaks Russian and Ukrainian and has been trained to drive a tank, and technician Megan from the National Oceanography Centre who, while many of us might be daunted by trying to deal with a leaking washing machine, loves fixing things and takes on the maintenance of mass spectrometers as part of the centre's work on climate change.

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 2. LONDON TO GLASGOW (320kns-m4a/63mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 17th July 2022

In this episode, Alexei travels from London to Glasgow and meets Roshny and Sharon, on holiday from Indonesia, who have just fulfilled a lifetime's dream of watching Liverpool play at Anfield. He also talks to Laurence who has been to his public speaking club which he joined to overcome his extreme shyness and Kirsty who has lived most of her life on a sheep farm overlooking the stunningly beautiful Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute.

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 3. BRISTOL TO PENZANCE (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 24th July 2022

In this episode, Alexei travels from Bristol to Penzance and meets Bert, a Cornish Bard, Marissa and Leanne who have travelled the world working on cruise liners, Angela who for many years ran one of Cornwall's most famous and historic pubs, and Astra who is learning the ropes at circus school.

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 4. MANCHESTER TO BOURNEMOUTH (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 31st July 2022

In this episode, Alexei travels from Manchester to Bournemouth and meets Moira who, as a dedicated Manchester City fan, has sky blue hair, sky blue clothes and even a sky blue house. He also talks to Jean who has been to visit a lifelong friend who worked alongside her as a psychiatric nurse, Steven and Simon who are both accountants but spend their leisure time travelling the world together to go to top music gigs, and rail enthusiast and veteran record producer Pete Waterman on one of his thousands of trips on the west coast line.

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 5. LONDON TO HOLYHEAD (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 7th August 2022

In this episode, Alexei travels from London to Holyhead and meets Alex who is an actor and musician on his way to perform in a musical in Llandudno, Elaine who has been to London to visit her two very eccentric aunts, Jessica, an organisational psychologist whose work involves helping people discover what they really want to do in life, and Stephany who has just celebrated her 20 year service award as a customer service assistant on the railway and tells Alexei of her meeting with two of her most famous customers - Prince William and Kate Middleton.

ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 6. HULL TO LIVERPOOL (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 14th August 2022

Alexei Sayle takes another train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK - by actually talking to his fellow passengers.

In this episode, he travels from Hull to Liverpool.

Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:

* Oscar who hopes to become a barrister specialising in human rights cases.

* Nick and Rachel who've taken up a more simple life after Nick's stressful career as a consulting engineer working on huge projects like the Shard in London

* Mother and daughter Jill and Isobel reveal how their lives have changed after they both lived through the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester.