Painting the Town

Jeremy Paxman takes his love of Victorian paintings as the starting point for a journey into Victorian Britain. Such pictures may not be fashionable today, but they are a goldmine of information about the most dynamic age in British history.

He investigates the most dramatic event of Victorian Britain - the explosion of great cities. At first the Victorians feared these new monsters in their midst, but then grew to love and transform them.

Jeremy explores the canals and sewers, suburbs and back streets, workhouses and magnificent buildings of the great Victorian city, while also experiencing the fun-filled chaos of Derby Day.