Bettany Hughes tackles ancient history in a very engaging and viewable style. So far I’ve seen the Minoans and the Moors in Spain, both of which look at the history beyond the “textbook” versions to describe more modern research and emerging viewpoints.

As always with history much is unanswerable so Hughes isn’t offering a clean neat whitewashed version, but a complex and very human tapestry. It’s all the more interesting because of it. The episodes are rather long, perhaps too long for one sitting since no attempt is made to rush through things. Facts are spread thin but what you do get is an excellent feel for the subject. An appreciation beyond mere dates and events. Hughes’ style is very telegenenic. Think of Nigella’s approach to cooking, I suspect they could pass as sisters. Is it something about long hair brunettes with strong cheekbones that causes them to flirt with the camera?