A HOUSE THROUGH TIME WITH DAVID OLUSOGA RENEWED FOR SIXTH SERIES ON BBC TWO

Returning for its sixth series, A House Through Time, once again presented by Professor David Olusoga, embarks on an exciting new chapter in Scotland's world-famous capital.

Edinburgh’s spectacular volcanic landscape and equally dramatic history offer the perfect backdrop to BBC Two’s landmark historical investigation, revealing a new version of our nation’s past through the lives of the ordinary people all living within the walls of a single house.

Edinburgh's architecture is a tale of two cities: the medieval Old Town with its narrow closes and towering tenements, and the elegant Georgian New Town with its sweeping crescents and neoclassical grandeur. 

However, this series features a house that intriguingly straddles the two, both geographically and historically. It sits high on Calton Hill with a view over the city and although built as part of Edinburgh’s rapid 18th Century expansion it predates the New Town’s creation.  It’s a house inhabited by the aspirational rather than the wealthy, and in typical Edinburgh style, it was built in stages and housed multiple families.

Dating back to 1765, this will be one of A House Through Time’s oldest houses and the most challenging to research because of Edinburgh’s complicated history of multiple families living in single dwellings. 

From its origins as a place for the aspiring professional classes, our house’s first residents included wealthy widows, post office administrators and even artists who would eventually catch the attention of Queen Victoria, but as times changed, they also included bankrupts, spies and even the owner of a questionable ‘house of ill fame’.  From its Georgian origins to its current residents, the story of this house spans the history of modern Edinburgh.

Professor David Olusoga returns to guide viewers through Edinburgh's transformation during periods of political upheaval, industrial revolution, war and urban renewal, examining how national events shaped individual lives within this single property.

David says: “I’m delighted that we are bringing A House Through Time to Edinburgh, a city I adore and that is bursting with history.”

A House Through Time, a 4 x 60’ Production for BBC Two and iPlayer, is made by Twenty Twenty Productions.