ITV Studios to make burial and death series for History

Grave Trade is a new six part series from ITV Studios for History which will explore the culture of burial and death in British history.

The series is currently in production and scheduled to be broadcast on History in the UK  this Autumn.
 
Each of the hour-long episodes will be built around a theme to bring together the parallels between the work of contemporary funeral directors and archaeologists.

Grave Trade will feature one of the UK’s longest running funeral businesses, T Cribbs & Sons. The family-run business conducts funerals for a variety of clientele, helping arrange funerals of all sizes and embracing all religions and cultures. The series will follow the company’s colourful and lively team, as they do whatever it takes to deliver the perfect funeral.

In parallel with the modern day, the series will also follow a team of archaeologists tasked with excavating bodies from across the country. The programme will capture the archaeologists at work as they work on Roman, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval sites.

History is a flagship channel of leading media content company, A+E Networks UK, a joint venture between A+E Networks and BSkyB,

Rachel Job, head of acquisitions and commissioning, History and Military History at A+E Networks UK, said: “We’re very excited about this commission as ITV Studios have found a really original way to tackle this sensitive subject matter, one that is rarely seen on television.  Death is a hugely important and ritualistic part of any society and the archaeologists’ discoveries, contrasting with the busy contemporary funeral trade, will capture a revealing insight into how our perceptions of death have changed throughout history.”

Ollie Tait, executive producer at ITV Studios said: “Grave Trade offers a unique glimpse into the intriguing world of the dead through the characters who work with them every day. We are delighted to be working with History to bring this fascinating documentary series to the viewing public.”

History first launched in the UK in November 1, 1995 and is currently available in over 300 million TV households in over 150 countries, in more than 30 languages worldwide.