TV Review: Unlocking the secrets of Egypt

Tonight (Sally Scott)

If you missed the excellent docu-drama series Egypt on BBC Prime recently, you can catch it from on Thursday night at 7.30pm. The lavish six-parter follows three stories: Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen; Italian Giovanni Belzoni's explorations of southern Egypt on behalf of the British and the race between intellectuals of Britain and France to unlock the secrets of the hieroglyphs.

The series was made in Egypt (in a first for a UK TV company), partially at the actual archaeological sites of Luxor and Aswan. This access had required skilful negotiation by the BBC, hence, apart from the obvious problems of sand and searing heat, there was also the matter of making sure that nothing of historical significance was damaged.

"Egypt is not the easiest country to film in," says executive producer Phil Dolling.

The shoot was arduous from beginning to end, but there was no question of filming elsewhere: "We needed the real pyramids, the cost of creating these somewhere else would have been impossible."

There was also the ongoing problem of health. Upset stomachs and hacking coughs were the order of the shoot: "The heat was really steaming one day when we were filming in the Valley of the Kings, pushing 50," recalls Dolling, "it's one of the hottest places in the world."

The heat and constant wind was also hard on the expensive equipment, some of which malfunctioned, but somehow things kept going ahead, "a tribute", says Dolling, to the cast and crew.

Of Howard Carter (played by Stuart Graham), Dolling says he never really fully appreciated how "edgy" he was.

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