'Gray and Bell bring a combination of historical and television scholarship and this conjunction is new and interesting. Their range of interviews have given them key insights to how historians think about television, the attention paid to the audience and the mechanics of programming allows us to think for the first time about the 'reality' of making historical shows. History on Television is without equal as an account of historical television in the UK.' - Jerome de Groot, University of Manchester, UK'The most interesting public history book I have read this year is Ann Gray’s and Erin Bell’s History on Television (Routledge, 2012), a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how history is commissioned and the audience segmented by producers; and it convincingly analyses how and why women historian-presenters often get a rough deal on the telly.' - Salon"Undoubtedly the strength of History on Television centres on the range of interviews with commissioners and programme-makers that Gray and Bell have managed to collect. This emphasis on oral testimony reflects similar trends in history programming of incorporating personal stories and lived experience into representations of the historical past of a nation. This empirical endeavour also raises important questions for us related to gender, race and ethnicity, and social class." - Janet McCabe, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

• Introduction. 1. The Business of Television: public service to brand identity 2. Landmark and Flagship Television: heritage and national identity 3. Commemorative and ‘historical event’ television: memory and identity 4. Re-enactment: engagement, experience and empathy 5. Who Do ‘They’ Think ‘We’ Are?: considering the audience. Conclusion: Problematizing ‘Public History’ – what is rarely there?

'Gray and Bell bring a combination of historical and television scholarship and this conjunction is new and interesting. Their range of interviews have given them key insights to how historians think about television, the attention paid to the audience and the mechanics of programming allows us to think for the first time about the 'reality' of making historical shows. History on Television is without equal as an account of historical television in the UK.' - Jerome de Groot, University of Manchester, UK'The most interesting public history book I have read this year is Ann Gray’s and Erin Bell’s History on Television (Routledge, 2012), a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how history is commissioned and the audience segmented by producers; and it convincingly analyses how and why women historian-presenters often get a rough deal on the telly.' - Salon"Undoubtedly the strength of History on Television centres on the range of interviews with commissioners and programme-makers that Gray and Bell have managed to collect. This emphasis on oral testimony reflects similar trends in history programming of incorporating personal stories and lived experience into representations of the historical past of a nation. This empirical endeavour also raises important questions for us related to gender, race and ethnicity, and social class." - Janet McCabe, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

• Introduction. 1. The Business of Television: public service to brand identity 2. Landmark and Flagship Television: heritage and national identity 3. Commemorative and ‘historical event’ television: memory and identity 4. Re-enactment: engagement, experience and empathy 5. Who Do ‘They’ Think ‘We’ Are?: considering the audience. Conclusion: Problematizing ‘Public History’ – what is rarely there?