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Timewatch

The BBC's flagship history series, from Gladiators to Genghis Khan, Bog bodies to Bloody Omaha, find out more in Timewatch.

Historian and author Saul David’s diary about being the presenter of Timewatch’s Tournament programme.

Wednesday 7 March

Dom sends over the draft script. I’m impressed. The story arc – my journey loosely following the life of William Marshal – works really well, and the various scenes where I’ll be filmed on horseback, wearing armour and talking to experts should play to my strengths. I’ve always found talking directly to camera – pieces-to-camera (PTCs) as they’re known in the business – the hardest part of the presenter’s craft. Just pretend you’re talking to a friend, they always say. Not easy when that ‘friend’ is an inanimate object. To make things slightly easier, Dom promises to keep the PTCs short. Otherwise the script is surprisingly sophisticated for a TV documentary, which makes a change. Many simplify the arguments and debates of history to such an extent that you’re left wondering why they bother using historians as presenters and consultants; presumably to add credibility.

About the author

Timewatch is the world’s longest-running history series, having started in 1981, and is the BBC’s flagship history series. Here, members of the production team share the highs, and lows, during the production process as they make some of the next series of programmes.