Digging for Britain | |
---|---|
Genre | Documentary |
Presented by | Alice Roberts |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 11 |
No. of episodes | 51 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 59 minutes |
Production companies | Rare TV (formerly known as 360 Production (series 1-7) [1] ) for BBC (in association with Northern Ireland Screen) |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 19 August 2010 – present |
Digging For Britain is a British television series focused on last and current year archaeology. The series is made by 360 Production (now Rare TV) for the BBC and is presented by Alice Roberts. [2] [3] It was first aired on 19 August 2010.
The series focuses on archaeological excavations and research in the United Kingdom, both at new sites and those already well known to science. Filming has taken place in many parts of the country.
Its 12th series, containing six episodes, will be broadcast in January 2025 (starting on 7 of that month). [4] Roberts shared information about upcoming series on her Facebook page starting from 7 June 2024.
The first series consisted of four episodes, initially broadcast on BBC Two in August and September 2010. A second series of four episodes was broadcast in September 2011. Each episodes of first two series had covered archaeology of specific period. The programme returned as a series of three episodes on BBC Four in February 2015, covering the previous summer's investigations in specific geographical region of the United Kingdom in each episode. Each episode of this series was hosted in a regional museum. The same format as in series 3 was adopted for series 4 and 5, which first aired in March and December 2016, respectively. There was also a programme Digging for Ireland linked to the series [5] which had the same format and presenters as series 5; it was broadcast in February 2015. A sixth series of the programme began airing in November 2017, returning to the four-episode format (covering three geographical regions plus one special theme). This structure was retained for series 7 and 8, which aired in November 2018 and 2019 respectively. Four episodes titled The Greatest Discoveries aired in 2020. It returned for its 9th series in January 2022. [6]
Since series 3, with exception of series 5, the programme was co-presented in various forms. Some presenters are former members of the Time Team crew (as is Roberts). The series 3 and 4 by archaeologist Matt Williams (who also presented some Time Team episodes). (Roberts and Williams also presented Digging for Ireland.) Raksha Dave (archaeologist in Time Team) series 7. [7] The archaeologist and academic Naoíse Mac Sweeney was a presenter in series 8. [8] Series 9 features historian Onyeka Nubia and archaeologists Cat Jarman and Stuart Prior in some episodes as presenters. [9] Romani archaeologist John-Henry Phillips, co-presenter of Channel 4's The Great British Dig, appeared in series 12. [10]
The song Coins for the Eyes was written for series 9 by Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane. [11]
Series | Episodes | Originally released | UK viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | ||||
1 | 4 | 19 August 2010 | 10 September 2010 | 2.51 | |
2 | 4 | 9 September 2011 | 30 September 2011 | — | |
3 | 4 [a] | 3 February 2015 | 23 February 2015 | — | |
4 | 3 | 10 March 2016 | 24 March 2016 | — | |
5 | 3 | 6 December 2016 | 20 December 2016 | — | |
6 | 4 | 22 November 2017 | 13 December 2017 | — | |
7 | 4 | 28 November 2018 | 19 December 2018 | — | |
8 | 4 | 20 November 2019 | 11 December 2019 | — | |
Special | 4 | 17 March 2020 | 7 April 2020 | — | |
9 | 6 | 4 January 2022 | 13 January 2022 | — | |
10 | 6 | 1 January 2023 | 12 February 2023 | — | |
11 | 6 | 2 January 2024 | 11 January 2024 | — | |
12 | 6 | 7 January 2025 | 16 January 2025 | — |
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Romans" | John Hayes-Fisher | John Hayes-Fisher | Not listed | 19 August 2010 | 2.75 | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "Prehistory" | Serena Davies | Serena Davies | Not listed | 26 August 2010 | 2.34 | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "Anglo-Saxons" | Sarah Jobling | Sarah Jobling | Not listed | 2 September 2010 | 2.45 | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "The Tudors" | James Gray | James Gray | Not listed | 10 September 2010 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Britannia" | Tim Robinson | Tim Robinson | Not listed | 9 September 2011 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "Invaders" | Sarah Jobling | Sarah Jobling | Not listed | 16 September 2011 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
Scar Boat Burial (commentary by Julie Gibson) | |||||||
3 | "Age of Bronze and Iron" | Emma Parkins | Emma Parkins | Not listed | 23 September 2011 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "Ice and Stone" | James Gray | James Gray | Not listed | 30 September 2011 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "East" | Edward Hart [b] | Alex Rowson | Catherine Ross, Sarah Jobling | 3 February 2015 | N/A | |
Hosted at Norwich Castle Museum Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "West" | Edward Hart [b] | Bernadette Ross | Catherine Ross, Sarah Jobling | 10 February 2015 | N/A | |
Hosted at Dorset County Museum Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "North" | Edward Hart [b] | Denis Minihan, Chris Nikkel | Catherine Ross | 17 February 2015 | N/A | |
Hosted at National Museum of Scotland Sites and archeology featured:
| |||||||
1 [c] | "Digging For Ireland" | Edward Hart [b] | Chris Nikkel | Catherine Ross | 23 February 2015 | N/A | |
Hosted at Ulster Museum Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "West" | Edward Hart | Gemma Hagen, Alex Rowson | Edward Hart | 10 March 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from The Salisbury Museum are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "East" | Edward Hart | Gemma Hagen, Alex Rowson | Edward Hart | 17 March 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Museum of London are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "North" | Edward Hart | Gemma Hagen, Alex Rowson | Edward Hart | 24 March 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Yorkshire Museum are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "West" | Graham Cooper | Gemma Hagen, Alex Rowson | Graham Cooper [d] | 6 December 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Bristol Museum are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "North" | Gemma Hagen | Gemma Hagen | Graham Cooper | 13 December 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from National Museum of Scotland are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "East" | Alex Rowson | Alex Rowson | Graham Cooper | 20 December 2016 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Canterbury Museums are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "West" | Nick Gillam-Smith | Not listed | Nick Gillam-Smith [d] | 22 November 2017 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Museum of Somerset are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "East" | Alex Rowson | Alex Rowson | Nick Gillam-Smith | 29 November 2017 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Colchester Castle Museum are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "North" | Fiona Cushley | Fiona Cushley | Nick Gillam-Smith | 6 December 2017 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from National Museum of Scotland are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "The Horsemen of Hadrian's Wall" | James Gray | James Gray | Nick Gillam-Smith | 13 December 2017 | N/A | |
Roman cavalry special (featuring Roman cavalry tournament) Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "North" | Karen Kirk | Karen Kirk | Nick Gillam-Smith | 28 November 2018 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from National Museum of Scotland are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "West" | Not listed [e] | Not listed | Nick Gillam-Smith | 5 December 2018 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Museum of Somerset are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "East" | Louise Ord | Louise Ord | Nick Gillam-Smith | 12 December 2018 | N/A | |
Throughout episode finds from Norwich Castle Museum are shown Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "Iron Age Revealed" | Tom Ranson | Tom Ranson | Nick Gillam-Smith | 19 December 2018 | N/A | |
Iron Age special Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "West" | Sophie Smith | Sophie Smith | Paul Olding | 20 November 2019 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "North" | Gareth Sacala | Gareth Sacala | Paul Olding | 27 November 2019 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "South" | Sophie Smith, Gareth Sacala | Sophie Smith, Gareth Sacala | Paul Olding | 4 December 2019 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "WWII Special" | Sophie Smith, Gareth Sacala | Sophie Smith, Gareth Sacala | Paul Olding | 11 December 2019 | N/A | |
World War II special Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Greatest Discoveries: The Early Settlers" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Not listed | 17 March 2020 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "The Greatest Discoveries: A Land of Tribes" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Not listed | 24 March 2020 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "The Greatest Discoveries: Roman Conquest" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Not listed | 31 March 2020 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "The Greatest Discoveries: Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Not listed | 7 April 2020 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "East" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 4 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "South" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 5 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "North" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 6 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "Midlands" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 11 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
5 | "West" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 12 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
6 | "North" | Not listed | Edward Hart [h] , Rory Wheeler [h] | Theo Williams | 13 January 2022 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Roman Towns and Tudor Shipwrecks" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Theo Williams | 1 January 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "Arthur's Stone and a Georgian Mine" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Theo Williams | 8 January 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "Headless Romans and Anglo Saxon Gold" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Theo Williams | 22 January 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "Mystery Shipwreck and a Roman Army Camp" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Theo Williams | 29 January 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
5 | "Roman Mosaics and Ancient Weapons" | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | 5 February 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
6 | "Ice Age Camp and a Saint with Syphilis" | Not listed | Denis Minihan | Theo Williams | 12 February 2023 | N/A | |
Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Roman Emperor’s Bathhouse" | Dominic Ozanne | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 2 January 2024 | N/A | |
Northern Britain Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
2 | "Anglo-Saxon Gold and Rebellious Nuns" | Not listed | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 3 January 2024 | N/A | |
Central England Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
3 | "A Norman Panic Room and a Mesolithic Fish Trap" | Not listed | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 4 January 2024 | N/A | |
Western Britain Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
4 | "A Roman Mystery and Waterloo’s Disappearing Dead" | Not listed | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 9 January 2024 | N/A | |
Eastern England Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
5 | "3000-Year-Old Shoes and Giant Axeheads" | Not listed | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 10 January 2024 | N/A | |
Southern England Sites and archaeology featured:
| |||||||
6 | "Forgotten Fortresses and Lost Villages" | Not listed | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 11 January 2024 | N/A | |
Western Britain Sites and archaeology featured:
|
No. in season | Title | Directed by | Producer(s) | Series Producer | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Saxon Gold and Buried Coins" | TBA | Terry Black & Louise Ord | Dominic Ozanne | 7 January 2025 | TBD | |
East of Britain Sites and archaeology featured: | |||||||
2 | "Dinosaur Highway and Roman Sauna" | TBA | Terry Black & Louise Ord | Dominic Ozanne | 8 January 2025 | TBD | |
TBC Sites and archaeology featured: | |||||||
3 | "Island Treasures" | TBA | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 9 January 2025 | TBD | |
TBC Sites and archaeology featured: | |||||||
4 | "Roman Crime and Ancient DNA" | TBA | Terry Black & Louise Ord | Dominic Ozanne | 14 January 2025 | TBD | |
TBC Sites and archaeology featured: Millom Archaeological Dig, June-July 2024 | |||||||
5 | "Chariots and Slaves" | TBA | Terry Black & Louise Ord | Dominic Ozanne | 15 January 2025 | TBD | |
TBC Sites and archaeology featured: | |||||||
6 | "Lost Mansions and Impaled Prisoners" | TBA | TBA | Dominic Ozanne | 16 January 2025 | TBD | |
TBC Sites and archaeology featured: Thorney Hill, in the New Forest. The site of a former 'Gypsy Rehabiliation Centre' that ran from 1960s - 1970s. The first ever archaeological excavation of a historic Romany site to take place in Britain, and the most modern site ever featured on the show. |
Sir Anthony Robinson is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom Blackadder and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel 4 series Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. He has written 16 children's books.
Time Team is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining the process in lay terms. The specialists changed throughout the programme's run, although it consistently included professional archaeologists such as Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis, Francis Pryor and Phil Harding. The sites excavated ranged in date from the Palaeolithic to the Second World War.
Michael Antony Aston was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bristol and University of Oxford and published fifteen books on archaeological subjects. A keen populariser of the discipline, Aston was widely known for appearing as the resident academic on the Channel 4 television series Time Team from 1994 to 2011.
Philip Harding DL FSA is a British field archaeologist. He became a familiar face on the Channel 4 television series Time Team.
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations. It achieves this by promoting research, conservation and education, and by widening access to archaeology through effective communication and participation.
Miranda Krestovnikoff is a British radio and television presenter specialising in natural history and archaeological programmes. She is an accomplished musician, and also a qualified scuba diver which has led to co-presenting opportunities in programmes with an underwater context.
Springwatch, Autumnwatch until 2022 and Winterwatch, sometimes known collectively as The Watches, are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The programmes are broadcast live from locations around the country in a primetime evening slot on BBC Two. They require a crew of 100 and over 50 cameras, making them the BBC's largest British outside broadcast events. Many of the cameras are hidden and operated remotely to record natural behaviour, for example, of birds in their nests and badgers outside their sett.
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter, naturalist and singer. After beginning her career in theatre, she ventured into presenting and fronted the children's television shows Wide Awake Club (1986–1989) and Wacaday (1987–1989). She subsequently went on to co-present The Hitman and Her (1988–1992) and embarked on a brief music career under the stage name Michaela, releasing two singles "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" (1989) and "Take Good Care of My Heart" (1990), which reached number 62 and 66 in the UK Singles Chart, respectively.
Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. It covers various subjects relating to both the natural and social history of the British coastline and also more recently, that of Britain's near neighbours. The seventh series followed a different format from previous series. In 2016, reports from the show were repackaged as Coast: The Great Guide, an eight part series on BBC Two.
Christopher Richard Serle was a British television presenter, reporter, and actor, best known for being a presenter on That's Life!
Alice May Roberts is an English academic, TV presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She was president of the charity Humanists UK between January 2019 and May 2022. She is now a vice-president of the organisation.
Mark Chatwin Horton, FSA, is a British maritime and historical archaeologist, television presenter, and writer.
Chronicle is a British television programme that was shown monthly and then fortnightly on BBC Two from 18 June 1966 until its last broadcast on 29 May 1991. Chronicle focused on popular archaeology and related subjects, and was considered an influential programme and a landmark in early television presentation of archaeology. The programme was commissioned by David Attenborough in 1966, and was produced by the Archaeological and Historical Unit headed by Paul Johnstone and later edited by Bruce Norman. Among the presenters of the programme were Magnus Magnusson, Colin Renfrew, David Drew, and John Julius Norwich.
Alex Langlands is a British archaeologist and historian, also known for his work as a presenter of educational documentary series on British television and a lecturer of medieval history at Swansea University.
Ben Robinson is a British archaeologist and television presenter who currently works for Historic England. He has appeared as a contributor and presenter for Channel 4, ITV and the BBC.
Britain at Low Tide is an archaeology and social history television programme that debuted on Channel 4 in 2016, with further series in 2018 and 2019. It was originally co-hosted by former Time Team and Victorian Farm contributor, archaeologist and historian Dr. Alex Langlands and Natural History Museum palaeobiologist Dr. Tori Herridge.
Raksha Dave is an archaeologist, TV presenter and the current president of the Council for British Archaeology.
Naoíse Mac Sweeney is a British archaeologist, historian, writer, and academic. Since 2020 she has been Professor of Classical Archaeology in the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna.
The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden is a factual television programme about community archaeology, that airs on More 4 and Channel 4, produced by Strawberry Blond TV. Presented by comedian and actor Hugh Dennis along with three archaeological experts, each episode sees the team arrive in a local community somewhere in Britain, and knock on people's doors to ask if they can dig in their gardens and shared spaces.
Cat Jarman is a Norwegian archaeologist and television presenter.