Jay Blades: The Midlands Through Time (2023)

In the final episode of this three-part series, Jay Blades takes us to his adoptive home, the West Midlands, to uncover the area's 20th Century history.

Jay is shocked to hear how badly Coventry suffered in WW2, targeted by Hitler due to its manufacturing might. In the half-destroyed cathedral, Jay hears about the woman who mobilised locals in the aftermath of the blitz, before discovering how the city rose out of the ashes, acting as an inspiration far and wide.

At the British Motor Museum Jay sees example after example of cars that were manufactured in the West Midlands, once the centre of the British motor industry. He learns about the design of the iconic Mini Cooper before he takes it out for a spin.

Jay hears the tragic story of the IRA bombing in Birmingham in 1974, which killed 21 people. Irishman Gerry Charity worked in the area at the time and tells Jay how the response to the attack affected the whole Irish community.

Jay meets the son of campaigner Avtar Singh Jouhl, to hear how he welcomed the controversial Black nationalism advocate Malcolm X to the unlikely town of Smethwick in 1965. Malcolm X came to witness the terrible racism and segregation that was prevalent in the area.

Back in Birmingham, Jay visits a restaurant in the famous "Balti triangle", discovering how the Balti dish was invented in Birmingham in the 1970s, and has a go in the kitchen himself.

Finishing his journey in Coventry, Jay has the honour of meeting original member of The Specials, Neville Staple and his wife Christine "Sugary", and being treated to his own personal performance of one of their old classics. The 2 Tone music genre originated in Coventry in the late 1970s, bringing a message of racial equality to Thatcher-era Britain.