Milford Haven Port Authority has helped Pembrokeshire play a starring role in a prestigious new BBC television series watched by two-million people and fronted by the colourful, former politician, Michael Portillo.

A team from the Port Authority worked for a number of months with the producers of BBC 2's Great British Railway Journeys to bring the programme and Mr. Portillo to Milford Haven. They spent a day filming in the town, at Milford Marina and out on the water in the Haven.

"It's a privilege to make these programmes, not least because they take me to areas of outstanding natural beauty, such as Pembrokeshire," said Mr. Portillo.

The documentary series, in which the former defence minister travels across Britain by train, visited Milford to trace the town's history from it's whaling origins to becoming the Energy Capital of Britain.

After arriving by train, Mr. Portillo met his host Andrew Brown, engineering director for Milford Haven Port Authority. The pair discovered they went to the same school in London and ended up swapping stories between film takes!

Following filming of the fishing fleet at Milford Marina, Mr. Portillo braved choppy waters and gusty winds to go out on a Milford Haven Port Authority pilot cutter to film the town from the water and get closer to the huge gas and oil ships which have transformed the Haven.

Commenting on his experience, Mr. Portillo said: "In Great British Railway Journeys I follow a 19th century guidebook called Bradshaw's. It mentions the tremendous natural advantages of the deep water at Milford Haven. In touring the port with Andrew Brown of the MHPA, he confirmed that it is the same feature which has helped the port to adapt and succeed in the many years since, enabling it to become an outstanding energy port, acting as the conduit for very significant proportions of the nation's needs for oil and natural gas."

Following the filming, Andrew Brown said: "It was a great experience to be able to contribute to this programme, particularly since the first 10 years of my working life were with British Rail and I have always taken a keen interest in the history of railway engineering."

The new series of Great British Railway Journeys, featuring Milford Haven, will be aired on BBC 2 early in the new year.