Sue Perkins embarks on an epic journey along one of world’s most contentious borders in new BBC One series

News coverage of the border tends to focus on drug trafficking, violent cartels and desperate migrants - and of course the wall. But Sue wants to find out for herself what life is really like for the huge variety of people who call the borderland home.

Sue’s epic journey takes her coast to coast across a continent, along the length of the border, from the Mexican city of Tijuana on the Pacific Coast to the north-eastern border city of Matamoros.

At the start of her journey Sue helps a group of Honduran volunteers building a hostel for fellow refugees fleeing violence in their country, whilst on the US side of the border she spends a day with the sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, to find out more about the battle with the Mexican drugs cartels that traffic people and drugs, and meets a rancher dealing with migrants climbing over the wall and onto his land.

Heading to the coast, she meets some of the many American retirees who’ve settled south of the border for the good life, and joins a group for a keep-fit session on the beach before travelling to the town of Nogales for the spectacular celebrations of the Mexican Day Of The Dead.

Along the way she meets people who take pride in what both sides of the border have to offer, as well as families who have been separated by the border wall. In the border city of Juarez, Sue overcomes her phobia of horses as she joins a group of professional women who cross over into the country several times a week to practice Escaramuza, a Mexican type of dressage. But she also meets a mother bringing up her family alone in El Paso because her husband is not legal in America and is stuck on the Mexican side of the border.

Halfway across the border Sue travels deep into the vast and spectacular Big Bend national park where the towering gorges and river rapids of the epic Rio Grande form a natural border, before heading down river to Mission, East Texas, where she meets Father Roy, a local priest, who has made headlines for opposing the wall - even as vigilante builders begin its construction.

Sue Perkins says: "Borderland is a journey through vibrant cities, steeped in culture and tradition, and some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. This is a land of human triumph and tragedy, where heartbreak and hard lives share space with joy, celebration and endless surprises."

Hamish Fergusson, Commissioning Editor, BBC Documentaries, says: "I’m delighted that Sue Perkins is bringing her unique blend of humour and compassion to give a fascinating and timely insight into what life is really like for people living along one of the most contentious borders in the world."

Pictured: Sue Perkins, Tijuana

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