Great British Cities with Susan Calman | Preview (Channel 5)

Susan Calman unearths the historical stories of our great conurbations - Liverpool, Bath, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow – revealing their secret stories and the people behind their past.

Many of us live in these places and millions more visit, but beyond the bustle, we often miss their real beating hearts.

In these historical detective journeys, Susan seeks out the people who know these great cities inside out and with the help of brilliant experts, she peels back the layers of our collective past and delivers hidden treasures that can be enjoyed by everyone.

In this first episode, Susan journeys to Liverpool, and for her it’s the very first time. She starts at the iconic Royal Albert Dock where she meets historian Frank Carlyle, who promises to “blow her mind” with the story of how one of her literary heroes, Charles Dickens, visited the city to research his famous characters.

Susan then travels to Edge Hill and is granted access to the 19th century Williamson tunnel network with expert Tom Stapleton. Tom reveals the remarkable story of why businessman Joseph Williamson recruited locals to build the mysterious and little seen subterranean structures.

Next, Susan is on the trail of an Irish born hero called Kitty Wilkinson, who is known to Liverpudlians as the “Saint of the Slums”. Expert John Maguire reveals how Kitty helped save the poor from devastating disease in the 19th century.

Then at St George’s Hall, Susan investigates the 1889 trial of Florence Maybrick, who was wrongfully accused of murdering her husband, and in a dance-led fantasy Susan becomes the first person in four years to quickstep on the world-famous Minton Floor, laid to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 1838 coronation.

Susan meets up with Freda Kelly, who was Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s secretary, and discovers the real story behind a man who managed the most famous band of all time yet was forced to keep his sexuality a secret, and whose life ended tragically.

At the extraordinary Anglican Cathedral in the centre of the city Susan reveals how a young man called Giles Gilbert Scott was asked to design the cathedral, even though he’d only previously designed a pipe rack. His work then became one of the post-war icons of the city.

Susan also investigates the life of fellow Scot and Liverpool legend Bill Shankly when she meets his granddaughter Karen Gill to discover what the great Liverpool FC manager was really like and how Everton, his arch-rival team, became strangely close to his heart in later life.

Begins Friday 8th March on Channel 5.