It was a trip to the British Museum to see the Tutankhamun exhibition when she was just five years old that first ignited award-winning historian and author ’ passion for history.
“I remember, still, the mind-blowing epiphany that all these fairytales that we hear of, a boy king buried in a secret tomb, and lost gold, and mysterious deaths, were true and I’m seeing it in front of me,” she tells SBS.
It was a visit that Hughes says inspired her young self to pen her own theory about the boy king’s demise, a foreshadowing of a career that has now spanned more than thirty years. She has become known for taking us back in time on her adventures around the world, but a conversation with Hughes soon makes clear the infectious passion for the ancient and mysterious that continues to set the beloved British presenter apart.
This passion has proved to be the magic ingredient that makes Hughes’ documentaries go-to guides, and her latest projects to illuminate the unknown and undiscovered are no different. With upcoming documentary series uncovering a largely unknown civilisation, a fourth season of her hugely popular Treasures of the World series around the corner, and an exciting look at the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World coming to SBS later this year, unique and awe-inspiring journeys continue to be Hughes’ signature.
Though she is known for piecing together the lives who have gone before, finding humanity in important and influential figures of the past, Hughes’ own story is, in many ways, one for the history books.
“As with anybody’s life, there are lots of different elements that lead up to who you become,” Hughes says. “I had amazing parents, but they left school at fourteen and sixteen, and it wasn’t like we ate and drank (history).”
In spite of this, Hughes recalls how she was fortunate enough to be exposed to immersive history experiences from an early age, and found mentors throughout her education who fostered her interest in the subject.
I was so passionate about history because I felt it just opened up the world...
“I had an amazing teacher who showed me an incredible image of the so-called snake goddess of Minoan Crete, with bare breasts and these furious kohl-rimmed eyes, and I remember the teacher saying she’d been broken like she was radioactive waste and buried, but we don’t know who she is, a goddess, a priestess, or an ordinary woman. I thought: I want to get to the bottom of her story.”
It was moments like these that began a love affair with ancient and medieval history, and saw Hughes pursue a successful career in academia. The decision to bring history to the public through books and documentaries came next, but Hughes admits making these projects a reality was an altogether more challenging task.
Bettany Hughes at a tomb at Hegra Archaeological Site, AlUla, Saudi Arabia, in 'Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans'. Credit: SandStone Global Productions
“I was so passionate about history because I felt it just opened up the world and it made me understand the present much better,” Hughes tells SBS.
“I went and talked to a BBC producer in the early 1990s and he said ‘Can I tell you three things: one, nobody is interested in history any more, two, nobody watches history programs on TV, and three, nobody wants to be lectured at by a woman.’”
It’s clear that this was a conversation that was both infuriating and motivating for Hughes, making her all the more determined to produce documentaries that engaged everyday people with important and often unknown periods of history.
“That conversation just put fire in my belly, and I thought, ‘I have to prove you wrong.’”
In 'Treasures of the World', Bettany Hughes visits the Church of St Nicholas near Berat, Albania, where parts of the building date back to the 11th century. Credit: Sandstone Global Productions
Unbeknownst to Hughes at the time, she became the first woman to present a television history program in the UK, a fact that, in retrospect, explained why the experience was not entirely smooth sailing.
“I remember thinking ‘why does this feel so hard?’,” she recounts.
“I didn’t understand why (making a documentary) felt so difficult when I knew I had a lot to offer, I knew that the stories were incredible, I knew it would be popular, but it felt hard and I didn’t understand why.”
Hughes was, in effect, sharing the stories of the past while making history herself, paving the way for women in the industry.
“It suddenly sort of made sense (when I realised that fact). I thought “OK, it’s because this is weird for people, it’s unusual.”
Bettany Hughes with camels in the deserts of Saudi Arabia in episode one of 'Bettany Hughes' Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans'. Credit: SandStone Global Productions
Now one of Britain’s most recognised and celebrated historians, and with a wealth of knowledge still to share, Hughes’ enthusiasm for producing quality history content hasn’t waned. Whether it’s a camel ride through remote Saudi Arabia, a voyage through the Mediterranean, or a return visit to the Great Pyramid in search of new insight, history lovers can look forward to plenty more Hughes on their screens.
“I feel so lucky to be doing what I do,” Hughes tells SBS. “It was a battle at first, but there isn’t a single day when I don’t say thank you for being able to do it.”
Bettany Hughes' Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans premieres Friday 28 March on SBS and SBS On Demand. Episodes air weekly at SBS starting Friday at 8.30pm, with new episodes also added weekly at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Bettany Hughes' Lost Worlds: The Nabataeans
series • documentary • Arabic
PG
series • documentary • Arabic
PG
Explore more of the world's history in the at SBS On Demand, and look out for a new season of Treasures of the World, brand new series Seven Wonders of the World and more coming later this year. Love history? Explore more of the ancient and modern past in the .
Stream free On Demand
Treasures Of The World with Bettany Hughes
