Alexei Sayle's Strangers On A Train

On a journey from Birmingham to Edinburgh, he shares their funny and moving moments, their favourite jokes, their tales of weddings, work, funerals and holidays, and explores the lives of strangers by simply asking the questions that we might want answered - if only we were there too.

Along with the unplanned conversations, Alexei gives us his reaction to everything he can see as it passes his carriage window. Perhaps it's the stunning coastline north of Newcastle or the remains of Britain's industrial heritage as he chugs through the Midlands. After all, there must be a little bit of Alexei's DNA devoted to the railways - his father was a railway guard and Alexei travelled thousands of miles by train as a child.

A Ride production for BBC 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. In this first episode, he 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.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons

A Ride production for Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from Cardiff to Portsmouth.

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. In this episode, he 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.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons

A Ride production for Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from London to Glasgow and meets strangers on a train.

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, he embarks on a rail journey, taking a chance on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him. 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.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons

A Ride production 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. In this episode, he 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.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons

A Ride production for Radio 4

Alexei Sayle is on a rail journey from Manchester to Bournemouth with strangers on a train

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. In this episode, he 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.

Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons

A Ride production for Radio 4

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.

There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also reveals the stories and memories of his career and childhood.

Alexei has a lifelong ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard and so the Sayle family benefited 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 pot-luck on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him. In this episode, Alexei travels on the Hull-Liverpool line and meets Oscar who hopes to become a barrister specialising in human rights cases, Nick and Rachel who have taken up a more simple life after Nick's stressful career as a consulting engineer working on huge projects like the Shard in London, and mother and daughter Jill and Isobel who tell Alexei how their lives have changed after they both lived through the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester.

And finally, as the last episode in the series ends in Alexei's home town of Liverpool, he recalls a moving story about his mum, Molly.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers and reveals their lives and personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

In the opening programme of this new series, Alexei finds among his fellow travellers, Michael, who is on his way to a major international dance competition at the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Blackpool, with his first ever invitation to be a judge. He also meets friends Julie and Sarah who are out on a trip and determined to have fun, including turning the tables on Alexei and deciding they will interview him - with very surprising results. And, as a lifelong fan of trams, Alexei is thrilled to meet the woman who runs the most famous fleet of trams in the country, which has been carrying holidaymakers along Blackpool's seafront since 1885.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from London to Blackpool and meets strangers on a train.

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from London to Blackpool and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers to reveal their personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, among his many fellow travellers, Alexei miraculously finds Barry, an old school friend from Liverpool; Denise, who has been given an extraordinary set of directions in order to deal with the complex arrangements for her holiday; Geoff, who on a whim, decided to buy one of the UK's oldest cinemas, in a tiny Welsh seaside town; Isabel, who is off to monitor dolphins - and Margaret, who has been going to the same spot on the Cambrian coast for her holiday every year for more than 50 years - and now her extended family is following the same tradition.

Alexei Sayle's rail journey from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli to meet strangers on a train.

Alexei Sayle travels from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers - and reveals their personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets Adam, a student at Cambridge on his way back to college with his mum Helen. Adam introduces Alexei to the mysterious world of competitive Pokemon. Among his many fellow travellers, Alexei also meets Holly who lives in Bali and is dedicated to studying and saving sharks; Megan, who was born in Arizona and is on her way to her first ever key note speech at the prestigious Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge and Katrin and Klara who have been on holiday in the UK, are flying home to Germany from Stansted, and are great fans of English humour.

Alexei Sayle travels from Birmingham to Stansted Airport and meets strangers on a train.

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from Birmingham to Stansted Airport and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets hospital worker Kevin who, on his days off, takes pot luck at his local train station ticket office and simply asks for a trip to somewhere interesting. Jenny tells Alexei how her years in the middle east changed her life, Donna and Paul take Alexei into the addictive world of murder mystery weekends, Ruth tells of her memories of her childhood in a mining community, and Julie and David describe to Alexei how, for nearly 50 years, they have run a general store in the Welsh valleys - now the only shop left in the village.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a journey from Cheltenham to Maesteg and meets strangers on a train.

Alexei Sayle takes a journey from Cheltenham to Maesteg and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers - to reveal their personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets Finn who has swapped his job at Nandos for a life in the Royal Navy looking after helicopters; Andrew who is about to run up the Cornish coastal path to meet his girlfriend who is running down it the other way; Paula and James who share a love of music, especially in Paula's case, the harpsichord; Julian who has just returned from being a volunteer crew member on an historic Brixham trawler; and Eta and Rowan who are both determined travellers and tell Alexei of a visit to Chernobyl - while Alexei surprises them with his own very unusual insight into the historic city of Petra in Jordan.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from Exeter to Newquay and meets strangers on a train.

Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and reveals the stories of his fellow passengers.

Alexei Sayle takes a rail journey from Exeter to Newquay and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers to reveal their personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets Mags, Karen, Anne and Nicky who call themselves the ‘cycling widows' and are determined to enjoy themselves while their partners are off on two wheels somewhere; 16 year-olds Isaac and Finlay are aspiring footballers and share their dreams with Alexei of one day playing in the Premier League and for their country; Dewi is travelling to a retreat for help with his mental health problems; and Sarah and David surprise Alexei with their tales of long distance rail travel – including a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express fuelled only by pot noodles and vodka and thousands of miles in India in second class carriages meeting some of the 23 million people who take a train there every day.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes to the rails from Llandudno to Cardiff talking to fellow passengers.

Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and reveals the stories of his fellow passengers.

Alexei Sayle takes a journey from Llandudno to Cardiff and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train - he talks to his fellow passengers to reveal their personal stories.

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 with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets Mags, Karen, Anne and Nicky who call themselves the ‘cycling widows' and are determined to enjoy themselves while their partners are off on two wheels somewhere; 16 year-olds Isaac and Finlay are aspiring footballers and share their dreams with Alexei of one day playing in the Premier League and for their country; Dewi is travelling to a retreat for help with his mental health problems; and Sarah and David surprise Alexei with their tales of long distance rail travel - including a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express fuelled only by pot noodles and vodka and thousands of miles in India in second class carriages meeting some of the 23 million people who take a train there every day.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4

Alexei Sayle takes to the rails from Llandudno to Cardiff talking to fellow passengers.

In this programme, Alexei meets Mags, Karen, Anne and Nicky who call themselves the ‘cycling widows' and are determined to enjoy themselves while their partners are off on two wheels somewhere; 16 year-olds Isaac and Finlay are aspiring footballers and share their dreams with Alexei of one day playing in the Premier League and for their country; Dewi is travelling to a retreat for help with his mental health problems; and Sarah and David surprise Alexei with their tales of long distance rail travel – including a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express fuelled only by pot noodles and vodka and thousands of miles in India in second class carriages meeting some of the 23 million people who take a train there every day.