Brooklands Museum is the star of its own television series
19 March 2021
A brand new UKTV Original Series dedicated to Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey, is due to hit screens on Tuesday 30th March on Yesterday channel.
Narrated by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Secrets of the Transport Museum is a 10-part series set at the world-renowned Brooklands Museum. It is the first time in the Museum's 30-year history that cameras have been allowed to film so much behind the scenes. The series follows the dedicated band of staff and volunteers who devote their time, skills and passion to maintaining the collection and preserving the site’s incredible legacies.
Brooklands Museum is home to some of the most important stories of motorsport and aviation history in the world. From the first ever purpose‐built racing circuit and the cars that broke land‐speed records on it, to an extraordinary collection of aircraft spanning over 100 years of aeronautical innovation ‐ Brooklands has it all.
Originally established in 1907, when the Lock King’s built the race track, the site quickly became a mecca for innovators and everyday people who wanted to race a car, fly a plane, or simply get caught up in the thrill of watching something so new and adventurous. Men and women flocked from across the globe to experience the revolution in motorsport and aviation, and Brooklands gave opportunities of mass employment to the local people of Weybridge and neighbouring towns.
Tamalie Newbery, Brooklands Museum Director & CEO said:
“At Brooklands Museum we tell the stories of pioneering men and women, who risked it all in pursuit of their dreams of speed and flight in the 20th century. Brooklands was a place which fuelled innovation and it had a huge influence on today’s motorsport and aviation industries. I’m delighted the TV series is going to give more people the chance to find out about this inspiring place, and how we care for it today.”
Viewers can expect to see a myriad of historic racing cars, vintage London buses, Edwardian planes and even Concorde. In one episode, Billy Monger gives a driving lesson to a fellow double amputee, and in another, the team recreate the Dam Buster bouncing bomb catapult, in honour of inventor Barnes Wallis’ daughter, who turns up for the occasion.
At a time when motor racing was almost exclusively a male sport, we are introduced to the infamous Belles of Brooklands; a group of pioneering women who raced on level terms with men in the 1920s. The V12 Delage was once the car of choice of Kay Petre, and now the car has returned 100 years later, to be driven by a modern-day racing driver, Abbie Eaton.
The new series airs at 8pm on Tuesday 30th March on Yesterday channel and will also be available on catch‐up on UKTV Play.
Head over to the Secrets of the Transport Museum page to find out what's coming up in the series, meet some of the stars and more.
