Michael is a Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, author and broadcaster. He currently also serves as the Pro Vice Chancellor for International Affairs at the University of Warwick. Most recently, Michael has contributed to documentaries for Chinese television (When Socrates Met Confucius made by Lion TV for JSBC, China); German television (Ancient Greece – The Dark Chronicles made by Gruppe 5 for ZDF); US television (The Colosseum made by Blink Films for PBS and Great Books made by 1895 films); and a variety of other UK and international channels (e.g. Sex-A Bonkers History with Amanda Holden for Sky History; Inside Culture with Mary Beard for BBC2 and A New History of Christianity for BBC1)....
Michael is a Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, author and broadcaster. He currently also serves as the Pro Vice Chancellor for International Affairs at the University of Warwick.
Most recently, Michael has contributed to documentaries for Chinese television (When Socrates Met Confucius made by Lion TV for JSBC, China); German television (Ancient Greece – The Dark Chronicles made by Gruppe 5 for ZDF); US television (The Colosseum made by Blink Films for PBS and Great Books made by 1895 films); and a variety of other UK and international channels (e.g. Sex-A Bonkers History with Amanda Holden for Sky History; Inside Culture with Mary Beard for BBC2 and A New History of Christianity for BBC1). He has also been a regular contributor on hit History podcast shows including You’re Dead to Me (including their first ever UK live tour), History Hit and Natalie Haynes Stands Up For the Classics; as well as a sought-after speaker at History and Literature festivals and corporate speaking events.
Michael wrote and presented the BBC2 series Ancient Invisible Cities: Cairo, Athens, and Istanbul which transmitted in autumn 2018. In the programme, Michael explores hidden parts of these cities, sometimes abseiling, diving and caving to access locations, some of which have never been seen on TV.
Michael worked with a team of 3D laser scanners bringing these locations to life in Virtual Reality, taking viewers on a journey through the history and development of these cities like never before. The Daily Express review wrote “This is properly exciting state of the art History TV”.
This was the third instalment in the Invisible Cities series, following Michael’s discoveries (co-presented with Xander Armstrong) in Italy’s Invisible Cities: Venice, Naples, Florence (BBC1 – 2017) and Rome’s Invisible City (BBC1 – 2015).
In addition, Michael has written and presented over 20 other documentaries for the BBC and for ITV, National Geographic and SBS, Australia dating back to 2010.
He presented a two-part series for BBC2 on the history of Sicily, Sicily: The Wonder of the Mediterranean, uncovering the Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman influences on the island, as well as tackling its on-going Mafia problems and its new role in the front-line facing mass migration from Libya.
For SBS Australia he wrote and presented a four-part series This is Greece, taking viewers to some of his favourite locations across the Greek mainland and islands, exploring their history and modern culture.
On Radio Michael wrote and presented two series of Spin the Globe for Radio 4, in which he took dates made famous by particular events in one part of the world and explored what else was happening around the world at that time.
Michael co-presented Roman Britain from the Air for ITV, in which he and Christine Bleakley discovered how the Romans conquered and lived in Britain, as well as how they continue to influence our country today.
Michael wrote and presented, as well as co-produced, through his production company Nostos Productions Ltd, a three-part series for BBC4 called The Greatest Show on Earth: Ancient Greek Theatre, in conjunction with the Open University.
He wrote and presented a two-part series, Guilty Pleasures, on the history of luxury in the ancient and medieval worlds for BBC4, along with a documentary on Delphi, Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World for BBC4.
In the same year, he also wrote and presented the two-part series for BBC2 Who Were the Greeks, exploring the nature and influence of the ancient Greek world.
In 2012, he presented a documentary for BBC2, investigating an unusual ancient mass burial event discovered under the streets of Rome in The Mystery of Rome’s X-Tombs, working with French and German scholars using cutting-edge technology to uncover the identities of the dead and the cause of their death.
On National Geographic Michael presented a three-part series about the development of Christianity within the Roman world.
Michael is the youngest Professor appointed by the Faculty of Arts at Warwick University. He has also won the UK’s highest award for university level teaching – a National Teaching Fellowship – and has won numerous national and university awards for his teaching as well as for his work in outreach and widening participation. In 2017-18, he won a Leverhulme Research Fellowship to study ancient global interaction. In 2021 he was awarded the Classical Association Prize; in 2022 he was named the International Lego Classicist of the Year; and in 2023 he was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Warwick, where he leads all of the Institution’s international activities.
His research interests span the ancient Greek and Roman worlds (about which he has published several academic and trade books), and the Silk Roads in antiquity (the subject of his book Ancient Worlds). His most recent publication is Themistocles: The Rise and Fall of Athens’s Naval Mastermind (2026), which examines the life of the Athenian statesman.
In 2015, he was made an honorary citizen of Delphi, Greece in recognition of both his scholarly and engagement work focused on the city and sanctuary. He is also President of Lytham Saint Annes Classical Association, the largest branch of the Classical Association in the country. He is passionately committed to ensuring access to the study of the ancient world for all and has succeeded in attracting funding for the Warwick Classics Network, a project he directs in conjunction with national Charity Classics for All, working with schools across the Midlands.
He writes regularly for national and international newspapers and magazines, and has taught in the UK, US, Brazil, China and Greece.
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