The Airport is a new documentary series on BBC One which will see Jeremy Spake return to his old stomping ground of ’s Heathrow Airport.
Named Inside The Airport: The Return Of Jeremy Spake, the show will see the aviation expert turned TV legend explore how the airport has been coping with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jeremy will meet everyone from airport staff to passengers, and engineers and pilots, who will offer their insight into life at one of the busiest airports.
‘It has been an extraordinary 18 months for aviation,’ a teaser for the show begins.
‘With planes grounding to a halt in March 2020 as the Covid pandemic swept the globe and the industry struggling ever since, Jeremy is welcomed back into Britain’s busiest airport to see how they are striving to get us back in the air, as we emerge from the crisis and the world opens up again.’
When was the show originally on?
Jeremy, 52, is a ’90s TV legend whose show originally aired 25 years ago on the BBC.
His original show was a fly-on-the-wall documentary which aired in 1996 and catapulted Jeremy to fame, with him working as ground services manager for Russian airline Aeroflot at the time.
Thanks to the show’s success, Jeremy went on to front various TV shows, including Holiday and The Toughest Job In Britain, which aired on the BBC.
Now, the new six-part series will delve into the trials and tribulations of running an airport during a global health crisis, and what they’ve done to bounce back from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Who is Jeremy Spake?
Originally from Colchester, Jeremy has presented a range of projects after the much-loved Airport.
With his appearance on the programme turning the everyday guy into a celebrity, he subsequently featured in The Angry Pirate and City Hospital.
He also appeared in Moscow for the BBC’s 2000 Today programme.
This isn’t his first time revisiting his roots as, in 2008, he featured in BBC doc, Return to… Airport, in which revisited the people who appeared in the original series.
Jeremy isn’t just a star of the screen, but has written two books – Jeremy’s Airport and The Toughest Job in Britain.
Most recently, in August 2018, he was confirmed as the deputy director of the Isle of Man Airport before news of his Airport return broke in February 2022.
Speaking about the series, he said: ‘While Covid has been truly devastating for the airline industry globally, it also provides a first chance in more than 20 years to reaffirm high standards, outstanding quality of service and perhaps most importantly gives us an opportunity to press the reset button, by under promising and over-delivering to customers who are eager to reconnect with others face to face.
‘I am delighted to be back at Heathrow and of course BBC One.’
The first episode of The Airport: Back in the Skies is available on BBC iPlayer, with episodes airing weekly on Mondays at 8:30.
