Essex was the backdrop as TV star Joanna Lumley started a new TV series.

Home Sweet Home – Travels In My Own Land sees Lumley visiting places across the UK.

The first episode, which aired last night, saw her set off from Tilbury.

Starting at Tilbury Docks she headed north, making a nostalgic return to Coronation Street, before ending the journey in Whitby.

Joanna was born in Kashmir, and Tilbury was her first glimpse of England when she arrived aboard the RMS Franconia in 1947.

The following year, Tilbury welcomed the Windrush from the West Indies.

Joanna explores some inspiring artwork along the footbridge at the terminal, that celebrates its arrival.

She said: “I seem to have spent a lifetime travelling the world, but as I get older, I realise there’s so much of my own country I haven’t seen.

"So, I decided that using my traveller’s eyes…I’m going to turn that vision onto this country, the place that I now call home.

"Last year we were due to go on a huge trip following the spice route from right across the other side of the world all through Indonesia and Sri Lanka and Mauritius then the Red Sea and into Egypt, but of course that was put on the backburner because of the pandemic.

"And I’d always longed to do something about home. Home sweet home. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t born here, even though I’m British, I wasn’t born here, and my father wasn’t born here.

"We’re British people but we didn’t actually have a home here, but we’ve made it our home. I completely love this country. I just love these islands, and it was a perfect excuse to say shall we look around here?"