Ruth Goodman

She has presented and consulted on several highly successful BBC Two television series including The Edwardian Farm, The Victorian Farm, Victorian Farm Christmas, Tales from the Green Valley and The Victorian Pharmacy as well as presenting a variety of films for The One Show and Coast.

We matter. How our ancestors – ordinary men, women and children - solved the nitty gritty problems of everyday life made the world what it is today.

The Victorian Farm was one of BBC Two’s biggest hits in 2009 and was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award, which was followed by The Wartime Farm. In 2013 she presented Tudor Monastery Farm and The Wonder of Dogs on BBC Two.

As well as her television work, Ruth lectures and holds practical workshops around the country. As a social historian she works with a whole range of people, institutions and museums such as The Weald and Downland, The Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust, the National Trust and the heritage and drama departments of several universities.

Her particular interest is the domestic; how we lived our daily lives and why we did the things we did. As Ruth says, “We matter. How our ancestors – ordinary men, women and children - solved the nitty gritty problems of everyday life made the world what it is today.”

Ruth assisted make-up artists with Elizabethan cosmetics in Shakespeare in Love and provided information on personal hygiene practices for Channel 4’s Colonial House, as well as interpretation for museums and heritage sites, designing exhibitions and training staff. Her lectures cover everything from History of Eating, Victorian Cleaning, The Cycle of Life, Babies and Birth, Medicine – A Consumer’s Guide and A Good Death. Her favoured historical periods are Tudor, Edwardian, Elizabethan and Victorian.

Ruth lives with her family in Buckinghamshire.