History UK gets into the “Grave Trade”

February 2, 2012 by Kelly Anderson

History in the UK is set to explore death and burial through the lens of a family-run business in Grave Trade from ITV Studios.

History, the joint venture between A+E Networks and BSkyB, has commissioned the six-part, one-hour episode series which is currently in production and scheduled to broadcast in the fall.

Grave Trade focuses on T Cribbs & Sons, one of the UK’s longest running funeral businesses. The series follows the inner workings of the family-run business as well as a team of archaeologists as they excavate bodies from Roman, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval sites from across the country. Each episode will have a theme that ties together the contemporary funeral directors and the archaeologists at work.

“We’re very excited about this commission as ITV Studios have found a really original way to tackle this sensitive subject matter, one that is rarely seen on television,” said Rachel Job, head of acquisitions and commissioning, History and Military History at A+E Networks UK. “Death is a hugely important and ritualistic part of any society and the archaeologists’ discoveries, contrasting with the busy contemporary funeral trade, will capture a revealing insight into how our perceptions of death have changed throughout history.”

Tags: Grave Trade, History UK, ITV Studios