Michael reveals how Victorians created the sewer system, providing fresh, clean water for all. The revolution began in Liverpool, which suffered the highest mortality rates in the country. But it took the Great Stink of 1858 to convince Parliament to create a sewer system for the capital.

Cotton's place at the heart of mass production is examined, via the creation of the first inter-city railway, a game-changing industrial loam and the birth of the Manchester Ship Canal.