The Bible: A History7 Part Channel 4 Series Featuring Gerry Adams

Didn't have time to tag this onto Saturday's post about religious telly over the Christmas period, but Mark Goodacre mentioned this a couple of weeks ago so I've been meaning to post it ever since.

Channel 4 is to screen a seven part series called The Bible: A History. Like their earlier series Christianity: A History, each episode will feature a public figure from a variety of backgrounds who will examine the history of a certain part of the Bible "from their own, very personal, perspective".

As I mentioned in the title, the name grabbing all the headlines is Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Having been brought up in an era when his voice was not even permitted to broadcast, it seems extraordinary that he will now be fronting his own show looking at Jesus' message of forgiveness.

Other names include Anne Widdecombe (who also featured in Christianity: A History), former BBC correspondent Rageh Omaar (Miracles of Jesus), Howard Jacobson (pictured above), Bettany Hughes and Robert Beckford. Mark Goodacre has been a series consultant and will appear in Beckford's episode on Revelation.

Channel 4's website for the programme includes an interview with Anne Widdecombe about the programme. There's also an article about the programme on the BBC website. There's nothing yet on the production company's website, Pioneer Productions.