In an article in The Telegraph today Andrew Marszal reviews the Channel 4 documentary...

“Foremost among the intrepid archaeologists was Philippa Langley, an avowed “Ricardian” whom by the level of emotion she had invested in every twist and turn, you could have mistaken for the dead king’s widow.”

Slightly unfair. Philippa was certainly emotional, and not a little tongue-tied, but given that she’d invested four years of her life and raised more than the £10,000 needed to fund the dig (and follow her dream of finding Richard) perhaps understandable when she thought she might have (found him). I’m not even sure she’s an archaeologist, she took no part in the practical side of the excavation (at least nothing that we saw in the documentary) remaining all the time outside the trench where the skeleton was found.

Not so University of Leicester’s osteoarchaeologist, Dr Jo Appleby, who bashed a hole in the skull with a mattock! What the hell was she doing so close to the skeleton wielding a mattock. If the poor fella hadn’t already received enough blows to the bonce (a sweeping cut that ‘dented’ the skull, a dagger type hole through the top, and a final blow at the back/base of the skull that would have finished him) Appleby had to give him a fourth for good measure.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Channel 4’s choice of presenter in the shape of Simon Farnaby - a self-styled comedian actor who really brought little to the programme other than reassuring Philippa Langley during her emotional moments. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the programme, and the dig itself, was just how incredibly lucky they were to find Richard’s remains (and it’s probably safe to say they are his remains). Remarkable in not just going to the right site, not just digging in the right place, but also finding on day one a skeleton with a curved spine and several ancient blows to the skull. A skeleton dating from the right time with a DNA profile that matched a living descendant of Richard. It was also good to see the professionals who, at the beginning of the prog had all looked very sceptical, slowly arriving at the WOW factor as all the little pieces of evidence fell into place.

Three cheers for the ‘amateurs’ who set the ball rolling!