History

Damian Lewis: Spy Wars screening and Q&A

Damian Lewis will be attending the screening along with the production team and key A+E Networks UK programme makers.

The new UK series focuses on many of the most critical and remarkable espionage operations which defined intelligence warfare and reveals remarkable true stories.

Following the screening of the episode, there will be a Q&A with key creatives behind the series, including Dan Korn, VP Programming, A+E Networks UK, Damian Lewis, Gareth Lewis, Executive Producer, Rookery Productions and Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Series Producer with chair, Caroline Frost.

Lenny Henry documentary, Race Through Comedy, coming to Gold

Lenny Henry (Credit: UKTV)

Lenny Henry’s Race Through Comedy, will chronicle and celebrate British TV comedy over the years and focus on iconic shows that have highlighted Britain’s mix of multiculturalism.

Henry is a fellow of the RTS and has previously been recognised for his work in helping to raise awareness of issues surrounding diversity within the television industry. 

Mary Beard: The scholar who loves sharing stories

Mary Beard’s career began with a piece of cake. On a trip to the British Museum with her mother, a curator noticed her struggling to see one of the exhibits, a 3,000-year-old piece of carbonised cake from Ancient Egypt.

“He got his keys out, he opened the case, he got the bit of cake out and he showed it to me.” It was a “light-bulb moment” for the then five-year-old, and a lesson in the joy of sharing. “People will see you wanting to know something and they’ll get their keys and unlock the case.”

The Real War of Thrones: Hundred Years War coming to History

Historian and writer Dan Jones will front the mini-series from independent production company Pernel Media and Chris Holt (Elizabeth I) has been hired as director.

The series documents the turbulent conflicts between the French royal houses of Valois and Burgundy, and their Plantagenet rivals in England, which exploded with such ferociousness in the colossal struggle of The Hundred Years War.

Do you need £4000 for a history of television project?

The Shiers Trust grant, now in its 18th year, is normally worth £2,000. This year, to mark the 90th anniversary of the RTS, it has been raised to £4,000. 

Launched in 2000, the Shiers Trust grant is named after George Shiers, a distinguished US TV historian.

The grant has enabled a range of projects, including the digitalisation of back issues of the Radio Times and the creation of a website which presents a collection of historical consumer electronics images.

RTS Craft Skills Camera Masterclass with Sophie Darlington and Christopher Titus King

Wildlife cinematographer Sophie Darlington (the BBC’s Planet Earth II and documentary feature African Cats) and director of photography Christopher Titus King, who straddles the documentary (BBC One’s Seven Ages of Britain) and drama (the History mini-series, The Bible) genres, discussed camerawork at the RTS Craft Skills Masterclasses.