Secrets of the London Underground

Secrets of the London Underground is a British factual documentary series presented by railway historian Tim Dunn and London Transport Museum's Engagement Manager Siddy Holloway, co-developer of 'Hidden London', the museum's programme of tours that gives visitors access to disused and historical parts of the network.

Secrets of the London Underground
Genre	Factual
Presented by	Tim Dunn Siddy Holloway
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer	Rob Dersley
Running time	44 minutes
Production company	Brown Bob Productions
Original release
Network	Yesterday / UKTV
Release	19 July 2021 (2021-07-19) – present (present)

Secrets of the London Underground was first broadcast in the United Kingdom from 19 July 2021 on Yesterday. The series explores hidden areas of the London Underground such as abandoned tunnels, secret bunkers and hidden staircases, and delves into the archives of the London Transport Museum's Acton Depot. The format of the programme generally centres around visiting two abandoned areas of the London Underground, in addition to viewing some of the Museum's collection at Acton, usually with assistant director and 'Hidden London' co-developer Chris Nix.

The first programme opened with 388,300 viewers and a 2.7% share, the highest rated programme on Yesterday and the 5th most watched non-public service broadcast programme that week.

The series is a UKTV original, commissioned for Yesterday and produced by Brown Bob Productions, following on from the success of Dunn's previous UKTV series The Architecture the Railways Built. Jacqueline Hewer, CEO of the programme's production company, stated "We can promise one thing - you'll never travel on the tube again without wondering what's through that door at the end of the platform..." UKTV's Hilary Rosen, deputy director of commissioning, described the series as "Viewers are fascinated by the Tube and this series promises unseen locations, fresh stories and secrets galore from right across the city."

After 659,000 viewers watched the first series, making it Yesterday's highest rated programme ever, the show was recommissioned for a second series of ten episodes, which was broadcast between May and July 2022. A third series, of ten episodes, was commissioned for broadcast between July and September 2023.

A fourth series was commissioned in February 2024 for broadcast later in the year.

Episodes

Series 1

Episode	Original air date	Programme title	Programme summary
1	19 July 2021	Holborn	The abandoned Piccadilly branch line between Holborn & Aldwych, and a spiral escalator at Holloway Road. At the depot, Tim explores some of the tube's iconic artwork and meets the man who drove the last Aldwych train.
2	26 July 2021	North End	The Cold War bunker at North End, under Hampstead Heath, and floodgates at Embankment. At the depot, they rifle through the original drawings for North End and discover plans for the floodgates at London’s riverside stations.
3	2 August 2021	Piccadilly	Disused parts of Piccadilly Circus and Highgate surface station. At the depot, Tim finds out about London Underground’s iconic signs and special typeface.
4	9 August 2021	Euston	Hidden parts of Euston including the areas set for demolition for HS2 and a signalling cabin at York Road. At the depot, they learn about ventilation and signalling.
5	16 August 2021	St Mary's	A night-time track walk along forgotten District line stations St Mary's and Aldgate East, and disused parts of Oxford Circus.
6	23 August 2021	Clapham	Clapham South deep level air raid shelter used during the Second World War and the remains of the Greathead tunnelling shield at Moorgate. At the depot, they discover an original London Transport recipe book.

Series 2

Episode	Original air date	Programme title	Programme summary
1	5 May 2022	Charing Cross	The disused Jubilee line areas of Charing Cross, the service tunnels that were dug under Trafalgar Square to help with the Jubilee line's construction and the Kennington Loop. At the depot, Tim looks at some original plans for other loops elsewhere on the network.
2	12 May 2022	Waterloo & City	The Waterloo & City line, along the tunnel towards Bank, and the abandoned Mark Lane. At the depot, Tim looks at the museum's collection of unscanned photos and learns about the Underground's moquette.
3	19 May 2022	King William Street and Knightsbridge	King William Street, the earliest disused station on the tube and Knightsbridge’s lifts. At the depot, Tim looks at the museum's contemporary collection.
4	26 May 2022	Brompton Road and St Pauls	Piccadilly line night walk to explore the hidden Second World War remains of Brompton Road, and an unexpected wartime use for St Pauls. At the depot, Tim meets a woman who sheltered inside Hampstead tube station during air raids.
5	2 June 2022	London Bridge and Ongar	Disused parts of London Bridge, Ongar and Blake Hall on the withdrawn section of the Central line. At the depot, Tim looks at the museum's poster archive.
6	9 June 2022	King's Cross and Marlborough Road	A secret siding and disused Thameslink platforms at Kings Cross, and disused Marlborough Road on the Metropolitan line. At the depot, Tim looks at a 1904 carriage and discovers the history of the Victoria line's automatic trains.
7	16 June 2022	Elizabeth Line and Angel	Unopened Elizabeth line stations and disused parts of Angel. At the depot, Tim learns how waste heat from Northern line trains is being used.
8	23 June 2022	Quainton Road and Kingsway	Quainton Road, once on the Metropolitan line, and the Kingsway tramway tunnel. At the depot, Tim looks at the history behind the Underground map.
9	30 June 2022	Greenwich and Notting Hill	Greenwich Power Station, a standby power station for the London Underground, and hidden parts of Notting Hill Gate. At the depot, Tim learns about ticketing.
10	7 July 2022	Baker Street and Edgware Road	Baker Street, the underground station with the most platforms, and the disused Edgware Road signal cabin. At the depot, Tim looks at the history of the Lost Property Office and London Transport's post-war catering operation.

Series 3

Episode	Original air date	Programme title	Programme summary
1	4 July 2023	Camden	Hidden passages of Camden Town station on the Northern line and platform pubs and hidden rivers at Sloane Square station on the District line. At the depot, Tim learns about the forgotten seasonal service to Southend and is introduced to the Q stock restoration project.
2	11 July 2023	South Kensington	South Kensington station on the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines and Marylebone station on the Bakerloo line. At the depot, Tim learns how the Underground became a lifeline for an immigrant family from the Punjab and discovers the true colours of the Tube lines.
3	18 July 2023	Green Park	Wartime underground bunkers of Green Park station, formerly Dover Street, on the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines and disused Down Street station on the Piccadilly line. At the depot, Tim learns about the wartime bunker canteens and explores plans with Chris Nix.
4	25 July 2023	British Museum	The abandoned British Museum station on the Central line and on the District and Circle lines, Bayswater station and the false houses of Leinster Gardens. At the depot, Tim discovers some of the ways women have been encouraged to use the underground from the museum's poster store.
5	1 August 2023	West Ashfield & Oval	A visit to West Ashfield training facility and the history of Oval station on the Northern line. At the depot, Tim learns about the experimental tube train designs of the 1930s and 1980s.
6	8 August 2023	Leicester Square	The history of Leicester Square station in London's Theatreland and exploration of disused areas of Hyde Park Corner station. At the depot, Tim sees some theatre-themed station posters and the evolution of station clock designs.
7	15 August 2023	Heathrow	The Heathrow Airport stations, the historic Swiss Cottage station and a train driver simulator at the London Transport Museum. At the depot, Tim talks to artist Mark Wallinger about his Labyrinth project to commemorate the Tube's 150th anniversary.
8	22 August 2023	Shepherd's Bush	Shepherd's Bush station, Elephant & Castle station and an interview with a female train-driver. At the depot, Tim learns more about the Art on the Underground project and rides in a Unimog road–rail hybrid shunter.
9	29 August 2023	Acton Works	The large Acton Works engineering facility and the former South Acton / Acton Town shuttle service. At the depot, Tim inspects the innovative 38 Stock and learns about the Tube's energy-efficiency plans.
10	5 September 2023	Archway	The history and hidden areas of Archway station in north London, station ventilation systems and the Emergency Response Unit. At the depot, Tim is shown safety equipment and sees some of the museum's modern acquisitions.

External links

• "Secrets of the London Underground". London Transport Museum. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
• Mansfield, Ian (13 July 2021). "Secrets of the London Underground". ianVisits. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
• Secrets of the London Underground at IMDb