Hugh Dennis to present The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden on More4

4 February 2021

Channel 4 has commissioned Strawberry Blond TV to produce a 4 x 60’ series of The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden for More4. 

A pilot episode of The Great British Dig aired on More4 in April 2020, becoming the channel’s most successful one-off programme in 2020. 

In The Great British Dig, actor and comedian Hugh Dennis is joined by an expert team of archaeologists to excavate back gardens around Britain, in an attempt to uncover the lost history buried beneath our lawns and flower beds – recruiting local people to get digging too. 

The series sees the team visit Newcastle in search of a Roman fort, as well attempting to unearth the long-lost Lenton Priory in Nottingham. In North Yorkshire, they must dig deep in the hope of locating a Viking graveyard, and they’re also on the hunt for a secret army base in South Shields. 

The experts joining Hugh Dennis on The Great British Dig are Dr Chloe Duckworth, archaeological scientist and lecturer at Newcastle University, archaeologist Richard Taylor and field archaeologist Natasha Billson.

Hugh Dennis said: “The Great British Dig is a fantastic format which combines finding out about the history of where you live and the surprising things that lie under your own back garden. It’s kind of a community archaeology project.”

Commissioning Editor Tim Hancock said: “There’s something properly magical about finding important pieces of British history in your own back garden. I can’t wait for viewers to discover what Hugh and the team dug up.”

Steve Wynne, CEO, Strawberry Blond TV, said: “The history we unearthed right under people's noses was truly incredible. Who knew you could have a Roman fort, a Viking burial ground or William the Conqueror's lost priory buried under the petunias?"

The Great British Dig is a 4 x 60’ series produced by Strawberry Blond TV for More4. It was commissioned by Tim Hancock and the executive producer is Steve Wynne, CEO, Strawberry Blond TV. 

The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden begins on Wednesday 17th February at 9pm on More4.