The man who made Swindon is now the subject of a six-part television series. But the programme makes no saint of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. VICTORIA TAGG reports.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel made Swindon great but it took blood, sweat, tears and slave-driving.

That is the finding of a six-part TV series by HTV charting the life of the engineer behind the Great Western Railway.

The series, called Brunel: The Little Giant, starts on Thursday and will take a fresh look at his engineering feats and unflinching ambition.

Producer and director Howard Perks, 51, said: "There is a tendency to romanticise Brunel. But he was a slave-driver and really made people work. That's how he achieved such extraordinary things."

For instance, building a two-mile long tunnel through Box Hill, between Chippenham and Bath, cost 100 lives.

Mr Perks said: "There was a different attitude to work and mortality in those days.

"A hundred men seemed a reasonable price to pay and didn't faze Brunel."

During the series, viewers follow presenter Richard Wyatt on a train journey, which begins in London and passes through Swindon and Bristol.

On March 25 the programme focuses on Swindon and pop music producer Pete Waterman pays tribute to his idol.

He said: "Some people worship Buddha, I worship Brunel."

Besides visiting the Steam museum, footage of the GWR works in action during the 1930s will also be screened.

Mr Perks said: "The huge scale of the locomotive building business cannot fail to impress. Swindon was a sleepy village until Brunel came. He was responsible for the development of the town and the entire south of England."

Born in 1806, Brunel was the son of a French engineer, Marc. Determined for his son to follow in his footsteps, Isambard became resident on his father's Thames Tunnel project, in London.

It was the world's first underwater tunnel and nearly claimed Isambard's life.

Mr Perks said: "He nearly drowned while working on site. Water gushed up a shaft and workers found his body washed up, almost dead."

Against the odds, he pulled through and ended up convalescing in Bristol, which marked the start of his illustrious career.

After talking with merchants in the city, Brunel entered a competition and won a contract to build the Clifton Suspension Bridge, aged just 22.

But not all his projects proved so successful.

Mr Perks said: "His career was dogged by disasters. Brunel's reputation took a big knock with the Great Eastern lines, which had financial troubles."

Tireless to the end, Brunel often survived on just a few hours sleep, in between working and visiting his wife, Mary, and three children, who were based in London.

Brunel smoked cigars heavily and collapsed in 1859 from a suspected stroke. A few days later he died, aged 53.

Mr Perks said: "Brunel was an outstanding man. This series recognises his staggering achievements, which were not so highly recognised in his day."

Episode One of Brunel The Little Giant starts on Thursday at 7.30pm on ITV1.

Victoria Tagg