ORDER, order! Politician-turned-presenter Michael Portillo delves into Weymouth and Portland’s past in a TV programme to be shown this week.

The former MP visits the borough for his popular BBC documentary programme Great British Railway Journeys in which he explores how lines built and changed communities, while referring to George Brad-shaw’s Victorian Railway Guidebook.

Series three sees the presenter exploring the south coast and on Friday he will be in Dorset to examine the history behind local lines.

In Weymouth he discovers the crucial role the area played in the D-Day landings during the Second World War, while on Portland he learns about Victorian Britain’s most prestigious building rock.

Footage for the programme was shot last June when Mr Portillo visited the Nothe Fort and other landmarks.

He met Weymouth resident Ken Warren who shared his childhood memories about the war.

Mr Portillo told the Echo at the time: “On this railway journey we have come from Windsor to Weymouth and we are looking at the history of Weymouth and Portland in the Second World War. Mr Warren gave us his fantastic childhood memories.

“I think it will make a really nice piece in this railway journey.”

Mr Warren, 78, said: “Mr Portillo was very nice. He was a very easy gentleman to talk to and made me feel at home.”

He added: “My most vivid memory was when a bomb dropped in my back garden. Me and mum were under the stairs as the air-raid sirens had gone off. The bomb dropped and part of the upstairs collapsed and we were trapped under the stairs. We shouted for help and the ARP wardens heard and got us out.”

Mr Portillo also visits the Swanage Railway in Friday’s programme and learns how the line transformed the town into a Victorian seaside resort.

The line was pulled up after being closed by British Rail in 1972 but has been rebuilt by volunteers.

Swanage Railway commercial manager Martin Payne said: “Everyone on the Swanage Railway was delighted to help the BBC make a small part of this wonderful documentary series which appeals to everyone – not just railway enthusiasts – because it’s a social and political history explored by train.

“The episode featuring the Swanage Railway was filmed during the summer and looks absolutely fantastic. Seeing those awesome medieval ruins of Corfe Castle from our steam train makes a stunning and really striking visual for television.”

The Dorset episode of Great British Railway Journeys is on Friday at 6.30pm on BBC2.