好色先生TV

Are you ready for the next instalment of construction鈥檚 very own reality TV programme? For those of you who don鈥檛 know what I鈥檓 talking about, BBC 2 is running a six-part, no-holds-barred documentary this month of the last stages on site at St Pancras.

The first two episodes of The 800 Million Pound Railway Station have been gripping viewing, which is strange given that we know the story has a happy ending: a station that has been renovated beautifully, and has come in on time and on budget.

Perhaps it is the project鈥檚 success that makes it all the more fascinating to see the tensions and dramas that went on behind the scenes.

The most intriguing, if somewhat unhinged, character has been the chief architect, Alistair Lansley. At first his attention to detail, quest for quality and loyalty to Barlow鈥檚 legacy come across as admirable.

But when Lansley discovers the glass panels on the east side are two inches out of line his reaction is astonishing. The man is reduced to tears. We watch him phone a friend on his mobile, talking in hushed tones about resigning and, somewhat dramatically, cutting his throat.

Lansley鈥檚 great fear is not that 鈥渢he man on the Clapham omnibus鈥� will notice the error but that he will be ridiculed by his 鈥減eer group鈥�. It鈥檚 funny, but in all the press coverage of the station鈥檚 grand opening I haven't read any architectural review that has picked up on the two inch discrepancy.

The programme-makers also have great fun with Claire Carr, an engineer on the project. A straight-talking woman from Northern Ireland, Carr has no qualms about referring to one of her subcontractors as 鈥渁 lying bastard鈥�.

Admittedly she is talking about Denis, the ceiling contractor who is three week鈥檚 behind schedule and who, when pressed to give an assurance the work will be done on time, says in stereotypical builder fashion: 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 commit m鈥檚elf鈥�.

It鈥檚 the kind of situation I鈥檓 sure is familiar to many viewers who have had the builders in, it鈥檚 just interesting to find it also happens on an 拢800m project.

• Tonight鈥檚 third episode, The Inspectors, promises high drama as the team races to complete the base of the station and escape 拢50k a day penalties. For an architect鈥檚 view of tonight鈥檚 programme, read 好色先生TV columnist Gus Alexander鈥檚 opinion online tomorrow. The 800 Million Pound Railway Station is on BBC 2 at 10pm on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and next week.