Television

Suzannah has written and presented historical documentaries on BBC 4, ITV, More 4, Channel Five, PBS, UKTV, National Geographic, History Channel, and Yesterday.

She has also featured as an expert contributor on shows for BBC 2, Channel 4, and Netflix.

‘a captivating style’

Radio Times

‘Suzannah Lipscomb fascinates us … fun and insightful’

Radio Times

‘hugely watchable’

The Daily Express

‘Lipscomb … combines a clipped elegance with a matter-of-fact approach and a plucky willingness to get involved’

The Mail on Sunday

‘Professor Suzannah Lipscomb lends academic rigour to [this] four-part series’

Guardian

The Royals: A History of Scandals

Witch Hunt: A Century of Murder

Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History

Presenter

A History of Royal Scandals

A History of Royal Scandals

A History of Royal Scandals (More 4, 2024)The first series merely scratched the surface.  Across six episodes on More 4, in this second series, Suzannah explores further scandalous stories from the royal archive.  Stretching back over a thousand years of history, she...

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The Royals: A History of Scandals

The Royals: A History of Scandals

The Royals: A History of Scandals  (More 4, 2023) In this four-part series for More 4, Suzannah explores the ways in which the royal family have been at the centre of scandals throughout history, and what role the press, Parliament, and the public played in generating...

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Walking Tudor England

Walking Tudor England

Walking Tudor England (Channel 5 Select, 2021)In this six-part series written and presented by Suzannah for Channel 5, she walks the South Coast, through Yorkshire, the Weald, East Anglia, London and the Midlands to explore Tudor stories and places. Episode 1 takes...

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BBC Proms

BBC Proms

BBC Proms (BBC 4, 2019)With Petroc Trelawny, Suzannah Lipscomb co-presented a special Proms on BBC 4 in August 2019. The evening of music celebrated the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth, including Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Symphony and First Piano Concerto,...

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London: 2000 Years of History

London: 2000 Years of History

London: 2000 Years of HistoryAlso aired as Capital - The Story of London (Channel 5, 2019)In this four-part series for Channel 5, presenters Suzannah Lipscomb, Dan Jones, and Rob Bell tell the glorious, and sometimes gory, story of the city’s meteoric rise to power:...

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Nicholas & Alexandra: The Letters with Suzannah Lipscomb

Nicholas & Alexandra: The Letters with Suzannah Lipscomb

Nicholas & Alexandra:The Letters with Suzannah Lipscomb  (UKTV, 2018)In this two-part docudrama, Suzannah explores the relationship between Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his wife Tsarina Alexandra by delving into some of the 1,700 love letters that survive...

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Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I(Channel 5, 2017)One of Channel 5's best performing shows– 2.2m viewers in its first week This three-part docudrama, co-presented and co-written by Suzannah and Dan Jones, and starring Lily Cole and Felicity Dean as the queen, explores the rise and reign of...

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Henry VIII and His Six Wives

Henry VIII and His Six Wives

Henry VIII and His Six Wives (Channel 5, 2016)Henry VIII is the most infamous monarch in English history. Famously he married six times over his 37-year reign. The six queens were formidable individuals. Some were ambitious, some brave, some ruthless, and between them...

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Witch-Hunt: A Century of Murder

Witch-Hunt: A Century of Murder

Witch-Hunt: A Century of Murder  (Channel 5, 2015)Suzannah wrote and presented this two-part series for Channel 5, examining the terrible fate of the people accused of witchcraft in the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Episode 1 starts by...

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The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London(Channel 5, 2017)It was a catastrophe for Britain - the most devastating fire we have ever experience. It destroyed almost every building inside London's city walls and has burned its ways int our national memory. 350 years on we have all heard...

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Hidden Killers of the … Home

Hidden Killers of the … Home

Hidden Killers of the ... Home(BBC 4, 2013-2015)Suzannah wrote and presented this five-part series for BBC 4. The five episodes were: Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home New Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home Hidden Killers of...

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Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History

Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History

Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History (Channel 5, 2014)Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s relationship is a fiercely debated subject. Historians are divided about why and when the couple formed and, above all, why their relationship fell apart so spectacularly and...

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I Never Knew That About Britain

I Never Knew That About Britain

I Never Knew That About Britain(ITV, 2014)This eight-part series, based on the best-selling series of books by Christopher Winn, is hosted by Paul Martin with Steve Mould and Suzannah Lipscomb. It’s a fun, light-hearted and fast-paced look at incredible stories from...

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Bloody Tales of Europe

Bloody Tales of Europe

Bloody Tales of Europe(National Geographic, 2013)This six-part series of Bloody Tales for National Geographic Channel with Joe Crowley is like Horrible Histories for adults. This series takes Suzannah and Joe all over Europe: to Krakow in Poland, Slovakia, Nantes and...

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Bloody Tales of the Tower

Bloody Tales of the Tower

Bloody Tales of the Tower(National Geographic, 2012)Suzannah and Joe Crowley co-presented this three-part series for National Geographic Channel, exploring the gory true histories of the Tower of London. It was National Geographic UK's top-rated commission of 2012. It...

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Expert contributor

Blood, Sex & Royalty

Blood, Sex & Royalty

Blood, Sex & Royalty(Netflix, 2022)This entertaining docudrama, retelling the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn for a modern audience, featured the thoughts of four historians: Dr Tracy Borman, Dr Owen Emmerson, Dr Lauren MacKay, and Professor Suzannah...

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BBC Proms – Music for Royal Occasions

BBC Proms – Music for Royal Occasions

BBC Proms – Music for Royal Occasions(2022)In July 2022, Suzannah joined presenter Clive Myrie and Karen Gibson to host this Prom from the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Barry Wordsworth, in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. It was broadcast on BBC Four.

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Insert Name Here

Insert Name Here

Insert Name Here (BBC 2, 2016-2019)Suzannah was one of two resident historians (the other was Prof. Kate Williams) on BBC 2's comedy panel show, Insert Name Here, appearing eleven times during the four years of its run. It was presented by Sue Perkins – making her the...

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The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn(BBC 2, 2013)On 19 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on charges of adultery, incest, and conspiring King Henry VIII’s death. But what happened in those last days before her death? Why did Anne, and the five men accused with her, have to...

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Secret Life Of…

Secret Life Of…

Secret Life Of...(History Channel, 2013)Suzannah acted as co-presented and contributor on five episodes of Secret Life Of... speaking about Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Lucrezia Borgia, Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.‘Historians Lucy Worsley and Suzannah Lipscomb revel in...

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Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace: Hampton Court

Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace: Hampton Court

Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace: Hampton Court(PBS, 2013)Hampton Court is the ultimate royal pleasure palace. Suzannah was one of a number of historians who featured as talking heads and occasional presenters on this one-off programme for PBS that explores the history,...

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Time Team

Time Team

Time Team(Channel 4, 2013)First airing in 1994, Time Team became one of the UK's best-loved and longest-running TV shows. It ran for 20 years on Channel 4, and Suzannah joined Time Team in Series 20. (And sincerely hopes that her arrival on the series has nothing to...

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Newsnight

Newsnight

Newsnight(BBC 2, 2013)Suzannah has appeared on Newsnight several times. Here she discusses the discovery of Richard III in a Leicester car park with director Sir Richard Eyre. Was he misrepresented by Shakespeare and the Tudors?

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Panellist

Richard Osman's House of Games

Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC 2, 2022)

The Big Scottish Book Club
The Big Scottish Book Club (BBC Scotland, 2021)
Pointless Celebrities
Pointless Celebrities (BBC 1, 2018)
Countdown
Countdown (Channel 4, 2017-2019)
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (BBC 2, 2016)
Quizeum
Quizeum (BBC 4, 2015)

Royal commentator

Royal commentary

Royal commentary

Royal commentatorAs a royal historian, Suzannah has covered many royal events for television. For CTV (Canada), Suzannah commentated live on the funeral of HM the Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021, the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Duchess of Sussex in May 2018, and...

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