Channel 4 boards Orient Express factual series from Rumpus Media, High Rock

The Orient Express dining car from 1911

Tman11S via CC

Channel 4 in the UK has pre-bought factual series The Orient Express: A Golden Era of Travel, about the famous luxury long-distance passenger train.

Coproduced by unscripted prodco Rumpus Media (Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD and Me) and Fintan Maguire’s new outfit High Rock Media (The Big Pound Shop Swap with Denise Van Outen), the 4×60’ title will premiere on More4 in September.

The series will take viewers on the now defunct train’s 1,700-mile route from London to Istanbul, revealing how the Orient Express inspired an Agatha Christie novel and became a favourite mode of travel for celebrities, politicians and spies.

The Orient Express: A Golden Era of Travel will air in the US on broadcaster PBS, which is also handling international distribution excluding Australia.

Josephine Brassey, acting MD of Rumpus Media, said: “Combining stunning aerial footage and illuminating historical insight, this series gives viewers a first-class ticket on an iconic journey that was once the pinnacle of luxury travel.”

Fintan Maguire, MD and creative director at High Rock Media, added: “This series captures the Orient Express journey in the glory days, when passengers could start in London and fan out across Europe on an adventure of a lifetime.”