So what was it like for the Team leader, Mick Aston, starting filming on his ninth series of Time Team?

'I approached this with some trepidation,' says Mick. 'When I got to the site I thought "Oh dear here we go again", but by the morning I was caught up with the buzz and well on my way to getting into another series. It's always the same. The programmes look like they carry on into the distance but then when you're in the swing of it things are fine.'

Last year Mick was fully booked with his professorship at Bristol University, Time Team, a couple of books, his Shapwick medieval village project and a busy lecture tour. This year he's reorganised things a little.

'I've actually taken a year's sabbatical from Bristol University. I'm still working with my postgraduate students, but otherwise I'm taking a bit of a break. This lets me concentrate on Time Team, the writing up of the Shapwick project post-excavation reports, and my monasteries book. I've been saying that I'm starting my monasteries book for ages – well now I really have!'