Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home

My new BBC 4 programme, ‘Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home’ airs next Wednesday 3 April at 9pm.

I so enjoyed making it: it’s a wonderful (if I say so myself) mix of history and science. Here’s what it’s all about:

‘While the Victorians confronted the challenges of ruling an Empire, perhaps the most dangerous environment they faced was in their own homes. Householders lapped up the latest products, gadgets and conveniences but in an era with no health and safety standards they were unwittingly turning their homes into hazardous death traps. In a genuine horror story, Dr Suzannah Lipscomb reveals the lethal killers that lurked in every room of the Victorian home and shows how they were unmasked. What new innovation killed thousands of babies? And what turned the domestic haven into a ticking time bomb?’

It obviously took me far from my usual sixteenth-century territory, but I overcompensated in the copious amounts of research I did and so I hope the nineteenth-century historians will forgive me!

I’m delighted it’s Pick of the Day in the Radio Times.

Written and Presented by Suzannah Lipscomb; Produced and Directed by Suzanne Phillips; Executive Producers – Griff Rhys Jones, Liz Hartford and Sarah Broughton; Camera – Tudor Evans; Researcher – Celyn Williams; Sound – Brian Murrell; Production Assistant -Alyn Farrow; Junior Production Manager – Katy Daykin; Photography – James Jones.

Contributors – Dr Kate Williams, Judith Flanders, Dr Suzy Lishman, Prof. Andrew Meharg, Colin King, Matt Furber, Dr Matthew Avison, Nathan Goss and Max Wagner.

Thank you to everyone for all their work on it!