Alice Roberts

Alice Roberts is a senior teaching fellow in anatomy at Bristol University, where she teaches on the medical, dental and science courses. She has a degree in medicine and in anatomy.

How did you get interested in old bones?
'This is a bit of a strange one. I'm actually a qualified doctor, but I did a bit of teaching during what was meant to be surgical training – and ended up liking it so much that I stayed in the university! At the same time I met some great people at Bristol who introduced me to osteoarchaeology and palaeopathology.

'One of those people was Dr Jonathan Musgrave, who I'd come across before, when he unwrapped the mummy at Bristol Museum. With lots of other people, I went to watch the unwrapping on a live video link. I was eight at the time, so maybe that was when my fascination with the subject really started. As a medic, I just find it fascinating how much you can tell about a person when all you've got is their bones.'

When did you start doing Time Team?
'My first involvement was writing reports on skeletons that had been found on excavations. The first dig I actually went on was the Time Team Live in 2001, where we found lots of Anglo-Saxon burials – and also, rather strangely, loads of bronze buckets. I did quite a few in the 2003 series, but only a couple in the 2004 series as I've been somewhat tied up with [the Time Team spin off] Extreme Archaeology.

'I've really enjoyed doing Time Team. Everybody's incredibly friendly, the archaeology is often quite breathtaking, and I've had the privilege of working with world-class experts like Professor Margaret Cox. I think my favourite Time Team dig is still the first one I did.'

Why red hair?
'My hair has been various shades of red since I was about 18. I tried black once, but it just turned my scalp blue. I had to tone it down when I was working as a doctor – but now there's no stopping me!'

What do you like doing in your spare time?
'I like drawing, reading, listening to music, and going for long, muddy walks with my dog. I've recently got into climbing and surfing, too – but I'm not very good at either yet! I bought Mick's old camper van last year – it's bright green now, but I haven't told him yet – and and I love heading off to Devon or Cornwall in the van at the weekends.

'I've dug as a volunteer on lots of archaeological digs – because my partner's an archaeologist and it used to be the only way we could get a summer holiday together!'

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