Urban Secrets

Alan Cumming visits Liverpool, deliberately cutting through the usual football and Beatles clichés. He turns his attention to the city’s lesser‑known treasures, seeking sites that rarely feature in guidebooks. Among these is a 1930s banking building, highlighted as an example of Liverpool’s hidden architectural heritage.

The programme follows Alan Cumming as he makes a visit to Liverpool. In this episode the actor walks around the city, presenting his observations in a straightforward style. The focus is on his personal experience of the place rather than a conventional documentary format, and he engages with locals and takes in the urban atmosphere. Rather than leaning on the usual football lore or the Beatles legacy, Cumming deliberately steers clear of those clichés. He turns his attention to parts of Liverpool that are less celebrated, seeking out sites and stories that rarely feature in guidebooks. This approach gives a different angle on the city’s character, and he visits locations that most visitors might overlook. Among the places he highlights is a banking building dating from the 1930s. The structure stands as a reminder of the city’s architectural past, offering a glimpse into an era that shaped Liverpool’s commercial landscape. By featuring this building, the programme underscores the value of looking beyond the well‑known attractions, and it provides a tangible link to the period’s design trends. Through Cumming’s itinerary, the episode presents Liverpool from a fresh perspective, inviting viewers to consider what lies off the beaten path. The focus on a single historic building exemplifies the broader aim of uncovering hidden facets of the city’s identity, and the programme suggests that such discoveries can reshape how the city is perceived by both locals and tourists alike.