
Ruth Goodman
Acting
Biography
Ruth Goodman is a British freelance historian of the early modern period, specialising in offering advice to museums and heritage attractions. She is a specialist in British social history and is a presenter of the BBC educational documentary seriesVictorian Farm, Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm and Wartime Farm. She also presented the 2005 series Tales from the Green Valley, and occasionally presents features for The One Show. She has been a consultant to the Victoria & Albert Museum and Shakespeare in Love. She is also a member of the Tudor Group, a re-enactment organisation for the Tudorperiod. As a result of her social history research, she has stopped using detergents in her washing machine, never eats factory farmed food and sometimes cooks on an open wood fire. Goodman participated in the 2011 series of Celebrity Masterchef. On 18 July 2012, Goodman was awarded the Honorary Degree of 'Doctor of the University' from Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln, for her contribution to history education. In Autumn 2013 she starred in Tudor Monastery Farm, a factual BBC2 television series about farming during the Tudor period. In 2014, she appeared in each episode of the Kew on a Plate four-part series, along with Raymond Blanc and Kate Humble. In November and December 2014 Ruth Goodman appeared with Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold in the BBC Two television series Secrets of the Castle in the UK. This television series examined the techniques used by builders of castles in medieval Europe based on the experimental archaeology project at Guédelon Castle in France. In 2015, she acted as expert, alongside presenter Fi Glover on the BBC documentary 24 Hours in the Past.
Known For

Comedy panel show about people with the same first name, hosted by Sue Perkins.
Insert Name Here

Paddy McGuinness and Cherry Healey get exclusive access to some of the largest factories in Britain to reveal the secrets behind production on an epic scale.
Inside the Factory

Jo Brand is joined by three different celebrity Bake Off fans to shine a spotlight on the good, the bad and the soggy bottomed from the most recent episode.
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice

From a piece of meteorite found in Tutankhamun's tomb to the Crown of Thorns, explore some of the most perplexing and unusual objects lying hidden away in museums, laboratories and storage rooms
Strangest Things

Follows historians and archaeologists as they recreate farm life from the age of the Stuarts. They wear the clothes, eat the food and use the tools, skills and technology of the 1620s.
Tales from the Green Valley

Victorian Pharmacy is a historical documentary TV series in four parts, first shown on BBC Two in July 2010. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television. It was filmed at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire. It is a historical documentary that looks at life in the 19th Century and how people attempted to cure common ailments. Since some of the ingredients of Victorian remedies are now either illegal or known to be dangerous, Nick Barber often uses his modern pharmaceutical knowledge to produce similar products without those ingredients. The other main presenters are Tom Quick, a PhD student, and Ruth Goodman, a domestic historian who also appeared in Tales from the Green Valley, Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm.
Victorian Pharmacy

Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year.
Victorian Farm

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold turn the clock back 500 years to the early Tudor period to become tenant farmers on monastery land.
Tudor Monastery Farm

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn turn back the clock to run Manor Farm in Hampshire exactly as it would have been during World War II.
Wartime Farm

Edwardian Farm is an historical documentary TV series in twelve parts, first shown on BBC Two from November 2010 to January 2011. It depicts a group of historians trying to run a farm like it was done during the Edwardian era. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed at Morwellham Quay, an historic quay in Devon. The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn. The series was devised and produced by David Upshal and directed by Stuart Elliott. The series is a development from two previous series Victorian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy which were among BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009 and 2010, garnering audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode. The series was followed by Wartime Farm in September 2012, featuring the same team but this time in Hampshire on Manor Farm, living a full calendar year as wartime farmers. An associated book by Goodman, Langlands, and Ginn, also titled Edwardian Farm, was published in 2010 by BBC Books. The series was also published on DVD, available in various regional formats.
Edwardian Farm

How do you build a medieval castle from scratch? Domestic historian Ruth Goodman and archeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold make perhaps their most ambitious foray into the past as they head to France to take part in a build that has been underway since 1997. Our intrepid history adventurers join this magnificent construction at Guédelon Castle to recreate authentic medieval castle living from within its rising walls.
Secrets of the Castle

With the help of Victorian steam enthusiasts across the country, historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Alex Langlands journey back in time to the era of steam which shaped modern Britain.
Full Steam Ahead

Victorian Farm Christmas looks into the lives of 19th century farmers and shows you how to make traditional gifts, food, games and decorations.
Victorian Farm Christmas

A team of canine experts reveal the secrets of man's best friend, investigating the differences between different breeds and exploring the genetic history of the dogs of a small English village.
The Wonder of Dogs

A group of historians and archaeologists prepare a Tudor feast as it would have been over 400 years ago, including the use of period clothes, recipes from the era, food sourced from the land and the absence of modern conveniences.
A Tudor Feast at Christmas
Rob and Ruth will travel back in time immersing themselves in some of the most turbulent events in history, exploring them through the contrasting eyes of the rich and poor. From the Great Plague to the Great Fire of London to the Blitz, the duo will delve into the past, uncovering hidden stories of survival, resilience, and adaptation across history’s most seismic events. They will visit iconic historical sites and uncover what it was really like to live through these times, as they breathe life into these fascinating moments that have shaped our world.
Rich Lives, Poor Lives

Living history show presented by Fi Glover. Six celebrities travel back in time to the relentless graft of Victorian Britain.
24 Hours in the Past

Self-confessed Christmas Scrooge, Miriam Margolyes, turns to her love of Charles Dickens and the festive traditions in 'A Christmas Carol' to see if she can rekindle her love for Christmas
Miriam's Dickensian Christmas

In this six-part course, discover everything you need to know about Victorian Britain, guided by historian Ruth Goodman and filmed on location at Black Country Living Museum.
Victorian Life

Assembles top historians and crime experts to re-examine the case of Jack the Ripper. Leading experts reveal their theories and discuss the evidence to support them. And, retracing the final steps of his victims.