TV Guide Yesterday Tuesday

The documentary looks at how Britain identified Mikhail Gorbachev as a possible new contender for Soviet leader, believing he could be the ticket to better relations between East and West. Plus, how fragile steps towards diplomacy were threatened by the vested interests of other spies still stuck in the old world order

Michael Portillo travels through Germany, beginning his journey in Berlin - which at the beginning of the 20th Century was a powerhouse of science and technology. Led by his copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide of 1913, he heads west via the Harz Mountains to the industrial Ruhr Valley to learn how imperial Germany was ready for war. He then goes south along the tourist trail of the castle-studded Rhine river and ends in the Rheingau to taste the wines of its vineyards

Following in the footsteps of early 20th-century travellers, Michael Portillo uses his 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Switzerland, which was a favourite with Edwardian tourists. He begins in Basel, travels east to visit the industrial regions of Zurich and learns about the engineering feats needed to thread the rail network through the Alps. He takes in the striking beauty of Lake Lucerne, before ending with an ascent by train to Europe's highest station at Jungfraujoch

In 1985, a very tense time, a young Mikhail Gorbachev is instated as the new leader of the Soviet Union. East and West have been publicly stockpiling nuclear weapons for decades, neither side wanting to appear weak. Plus, the spying game threatens the first tentative moves towards peace

Fiona Bruce presents the show from Ulster Folk Museum near Belfast, where finds include a collection of dolls with eyes that change colour, an early Louis Vuitton trunk, an unusual black opal, and a pair of vintage Guinness signs. Mark Smith gets a rare chance to see medals awarded to participants in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, while Fiona meets the Armagh Rhymers, a folk group who dress in wicker costumes and preserve the ancient tradition of storytelling known as mumming

Fiona Bruce returns to Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland, a former colliery that tells the story of coal mining and the miners' way of life in the north-east of England. Items brought in to be valued include a George Cross medal awarded to a miner who helped rescue the victims of a pit disaster, a portrait of a woman in Japanese dress, two tiny 'firing' glasses, and a car park sign that featured in the movie Get Carter

In 1985, a very tense time, a young Mikhail Gorbachev is instated as the new leader of the Soviet Union. East and West have been publicly stockpiling nuclear weapons for decades, neither side wanting to appear weak. Plus, the spying game threatens the first tentative moves towards peace

In 1985, a very tense time, a young Mikhail Gorbachev is instated as the new leader of the Soviet Union. East and West have been publicly stockpiling nuclear weapons for decades, neither side wanting to appear weak. Plus, the spying game threatens the first tentative moves towards peace