TIMESHIFT BBC4, 9pm

THIS documentary is all about nostalgia but not in a saccharine way; the nostalgia here is knotted neatly with social history.

It tells the story of the paddle steamers which used to ferry holidaymakers back and forth from ports to various chilly seaside resorts, islands and pretty coastal towns. For a low price, these boats could deliver you to the delights of Ilfracombe, Weston-super-Mare or the Clyde Riviera. In their heyday of the 50s and 60s, the paddle steamers offered working-class families an affordable chance to get away from the factory and the overcrowded flat, and the fact that the steamer made a short journey over water allowed you to feel you were going abroad.

Also, the rules about drinking didn’t apply at sea, so passengers were able to indulge in the heady freedom of a drink at any hour.

With glamorous onboard entertainment, easy drinks and drudgery left onshore, these old boats gave a taste of what the upper classes might feel when traversing the Atlantic, so they became known as “the People’s Liners” – a chance to taste a little bit of the high life.

The programme is filled with colourful archive footage of cheery passengers on deck, wrapped up against the breeze, perhaps with a brandy in hand, and reminiscences from passengers about their childhood experiences in the 50s as they took off for the bright lights of Ilfracombe.