A much-loved and unique North East train journey has been showcased in Michael Portillo's Great Coastal Railway Journeys ahead of its 30th anniversary this year.
The Passage to India, also affectionately known as The Curry Train, connects Newcastle Central Station to Corbridge - with the latter station being home to the Valley Restaurant.
And the family which owns the restaurant (and the Valley Junction in Jesmond) say its appearance on BBC is 'worth raving about.'
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Passengers have been able to enjoy a drink whilst taking in the Northumberland countryside on the Tyne Valley Line since 1992. They can also order their four course meal ahead of arrival on a journey which takes around 40 minutes.
Daras Aziz, who owns they Valley, got the idea for the Passage to India after chatting with former Newcastle United Chairman, Freddy Shepherd. The Geordie multi-millionaire mentioned that having drink and drive was making visiting Corbridge difficult, which got Daraz thinking.
Nabs Aziz, Daraz's son, said: "That's when dad got the idea of dressing up in traditional Indian attire and providing this service from Newcastle. Drinks are provided and you get the experience you'd usually get in the restaurant, but on the train there."
And Freddy Shepherd isn't the only famous guest who has visited over the years, with Great North Run founder Brendan Foster a regular customer over the years. Nabs also lists Ian Botham, Alan Shearer, Chris Tarrant and Frank Bruno among the Valley's guests.
There has been quite a gap between filming and the show coming out. Nabs was only informed last week that the episode would be aired this Monday He said: "Filming was supposed to go ahead in 2020, but due to the Covid restrictions it was put back to the summer. We were thinking a long time ago about reaching out and saying, we've got something different here. But they contacted us because Michael Portillo was going past us on his journey and said, 'hey, we'd like to get the curry train involved.'"
Corbridge is one of the spots furthest inland on the Northumberland stretch of Great Coastal Railways, with Michael stopping on his way up to Bardon Mill to explore Hadrian's Wall. His journey starts at Tynemouth, where he visits the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade and the Seal Hospital.
Nabs said: "I wasn't on screen but I was helping out while they were shooting. It was a fun day with them, Portillo is an eccentric guy so that was interesting!"
Despite a rise in staycations and days out in the UK, the pandemic has affected the availability and timetables of trains on the Tyne Valley Line, with staff shortages and cancellations on the trains having had a knock on effect on the Valley.
Nabs continued: "The curry train, we could say, is about 40 - 50 percent of our trade. It's massive.
"It's always been popular but we've had to cancel a lot of our parties because the train timetables don't always line up, that's something we've even suffered with the last few weeks. Sometimes return trains haven't turned up and we've had to phone taxis - there have even been times where staff members give lifts home. But when it's running, it's great both for us and the customers. We're just having to work our way around the restrictions."
And despite the disappointment of the Passage to India being cancelled, it's meant that there's been an upturn in custom from those who live locally. Nabs continued: "What we have noticed is during the pandemic, even if we don't run the train, we cover that business from local custom. Local customers who we can't usually cater for have been able to book in on a Friday and Saturday night."
Great Coastal Railway Journeys is on at 6:30pm on Monday February 7. It continues each night this week, stopping in different locations in Northumberland.
