Tori is a palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist who specialises in the Ice Age – where the human story and archaeology really get going. Her work has taken her from the fossil-rich caves of the Mediterranean islands to the permafrost of Siberia in search of frozen mammoth carcasses. Tori’s palaeontological endeavours inform her expertise on the ethics and practicalities of “de-extinction” – whether we could, or should, bring back extinct species. In January 2026 Tori joined the presenting team of Digging for Britain for BBC Two, showcasing archaeology’s latest discoveries. Tori will be the lead presenter of the new series of Digging for Britain, airing in 2027. Other credits include Bone Detectives, Britain at Low Tide, and Walking Through Time all...
Tori is a palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist who specialises in the Ice Age – where the human story and archaeology really get going. Her work has taken her from the fossil-rich caves of the Mediterranean islands to the permafrost of Siberia in search of frozen mammoth carcasses. Tori’s palaeontological endeavours inform her expertise on the ethics and practicalities of “de-extinction” – whether we could, or should, bring back extinct species.
In January 2026 Tori joined the presenting team of Digging for Britain for BBC Two, showcasing archaeology’s latest discoveries. Tori will be the lead presenter of the new series of Digging for Britain, airing in 2027. Other credits include Bone Detectives, Britain at Low Tide, and Walking Through Time all for Channel 4. She also presented Ice Age: Return of the Mammoth for Channel 4 and the Science Channel, Woolly Mammoth the Autopsy for Channel 4 and Smithsonian, Hannibal’s Elephant Army for Channel 4/PBS and T. Rex Autopsy for National Geographic. Tori has also made numerous appearances as an expert contributor on specialist factual programmes, as well as news and current affairs (she once left Russel Howard lost for words on Russel Howard’s Good News).
Tori’s audio presenting credits include BBC Radio 4’s Hoax and One to One: Future Cities, and the award-winning podcast Wild Crimes, part of the broader series Our Broken Planet. She is a frequent guest on radio comedy shows such as the Infinite Monkey Cage and Curious Cases, and is regularly called upon for expert comment.
Tori is Senior Lecturer in the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield, where she also runs the MSc in Science Communication.
She co-founded TrowelBlazers, an organisation dedicated to telling the stories of pioneering women in palaeontology, geology and archaeology.
