Out of this WORLD

Train enthusiast FRANCIS BOURGEOIS on his space adventure

- WORDS: IAN MACEWAN

MISSION TO SPACE WITH FRANCIS BOURGEOIS

NEW SUNDAY, 6.50PM, C4 FACTUAL (BOX SET, CHANNEL 4 STREAMING)

His enthusiastic posts about trainspotting have made Francis Bourgeois a social-media sensation. But as well as his lifelong love for rail, the 25-year-old Londoner, whose real name is Luke Nicolson, has always been fascinated by space exploration. And now, in new C4 series Mission to Space, narrated by Sir Stephen Fry, he is on a quest to realise his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.

‘When I was a little boy, I regularly visited the Science Museum, where things like the Apollo 10 command module were a feast for a young mind!’ explains Francis, as he meets TV Times to talk about the two-part documentary. ‘So that was kind of point zero for my interest in space.’

A DASH OF STAR POWER

After expressing his wish to transform from trainspotter to astronaut via a TikTok post, he got help from an unexpected but most welcome – and very exciting – source.