Channel 4 to unveil the face of Britain’s oldest skeleton

Channel 4 to unveil the face of Britain’s oldest skeleton

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Wednesday, 24th January 2018
Cheddar Man’s remains are currently on loan to the Natural History Museum and on display in the Museum’s Human Evolution gallery (credit: Channel 4)

The face of Britain’s oldest complete skeleton will be unveiled in new Channel 4 show, The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man.

The one hour film will air as a part of Channel 4’s critically-acclaimed Secret History strand and follows the UK’s most ambitious ancient DNA project to date.

The skeleton goes by the name of Cheddar Man because of where he was unearthed, Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset over 100 years ago.

He has had his DNA analysed by top scientists from University College London and the Natural History Museum.

Building on this advanced genetic testing, Cheddar Man’s entire head has been recreated through ground-breaking scientific research by identical Dutch twins, Adrie and Alfons Kennis.

The brothers are experts in recreating humans that are scientifically accurate and are regarded as two of the most acclaimed palaeontological model makers in the world.

The programme endeavours to answer questions such as, what did he look like and where did he come from, which has been impossible until now.

“This is one of the most exciting programmes I have ever worked on. To see the face of the first Brit, someone we could all be related to, is going to be absolutely fascinating," said director Steven Clarke.

Channel 4 will be hoping the programme performs as well as previous films from the Secret History strand. Titanic: The New Evidence was the broadcaster's 8th most watched show last year.

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The face of Britain’s oldest complete skeleton will be unveiled in new Channel 4 show, The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man.