“I’ve got a model railway that runs all the way around my flat,” says TikTok trainspotter Francis Bourgeois.

This admission will make perfect sense, and perhaps bring a grin, to the millions who follow the 23-year-old on social media.

For those less familiar, he’s a unique kind of internet celebrity.

His trainspotting reaction videos, showing his uncontainable, wholesome excitement as locomotives fly by, appeared to touch people during the pandemic, with comments underneath regularly pointing to the dose of joy he provided.

Now, boasting a combined five million plus followers across TikTok and Instagram, life is busy.

Celebrities including singer Joe Jonas and retired footballer Thierry Henry have starred in his videos, there’s a book to his name, and fashion partnerships, Gucci included. Oh, and a live onstage appearance at a Sam Fender gig.

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Now he is set to front his full-length solo TV debut for the BBC Travel Show.

The adventure sees him travel nearly 900 miles, making 87 train stops over five days, riding exclusively on British Railway rolling stock.