With newspapers in decline and social media turning into ‘silos’ of niche-interests, the main way to gain broad exposure for any subject is still television. So it was good to see Margaret Rope’s work being featured in a popular TV series.

Cathedral

The ‘Great British Railways Journeys’ programme is incredibly popular, already running into twenty series, with around twenty episodes in each series. In it the former politician Michael Portillo gets out his railway guide and travels to all parts of the country, seeking out aspects of the places he gets to.
And, in Series 16, Episode 11, he came to Shrewsbury – and found the wonderful Margaret Rope stained-glass windows in Shrewsbury Cathedral.

Arthur Rope

On hand to meet Michael Portillo was Arthur Rope, who is not only a relative of Marga’s but also the author of ‘Margaret Rope – Painter In Light’ the definitive account about Marga’s works.

It was a fascinating interview in which Portillo seems to show genuine interest in Marga’s accomplishments and her life-story – and he stayed long enough to pose for photos too…

The episode can be watched online, on BBC i-Player, whenever the programme is being repeated, which is surprisingly often.

STOP PRESS …. the episode is live for watching on BBC i-Player in the first three weeks of April 2026…

TV star

This is not the first time that Marga’s works have appeared on television. The BBC did a Margaret Rope documentary special to mark the 2016 exhibition of her life & times (which was then being held at Shrewsbury Museum).
It’s a very insightful documentary, and is permanently available for watching – see https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0493hfy.

Incidentally, a striking piece of video-art came out of that exhibition also: a three-minute visual ‘walking tour’ of the exhibits by Geoff Ward. It is enhanced by an original, and lovely, music soundtrack.

It is curious how far & wide television can stretch.
For example, it is thanks to Portillo’s programme that the poet Lucy London came across Marga for the first time.

Let’s hope many others were similarly made aware of Marga’s art!

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