Greg Jenner


Greg Jenner is a British author and public historian born in 1982 with a particular interest in communicating history through pop culture and humour. His appearances on British television and radio discussing history has led to him being termed a ‘celebrity historian’.

Early life

Jenner studied a History & Archaeology BA and Medieval Studies MA at The University of York.

Career

Jenner has worked as a historical consultant on the anarchic Horrible Histories books and television shows. Jenner has accredited the success of Horrible Histories to a non-patronising approach to children’s television.
Jenner has written for GQ magazine and has appeared as a guest on Richard Herring's interview podcasts and on the Art Detective podcast. He also featured on the BBC Radio 4 programme Great Lives discussing Gene Kelly.
He has appeared more than once as a guest on QI spin-off podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. and has also made appearances on the Simon Mayo and the Steve Wright shows on BBC Radio 2.
Jenner featured as an expert on the Inside Versailles BBC 2 television programme, as well as for the Independent newspaper, discussing historical accuracy in television programmes.
As of September, 2019, Jenner began to present the BBC Sounds podcast, You’re Dead To Me. Each episode sees him to talk to both a historian and comedian about a historical figure or time period.
Jenner spoke out against proposals for changes to the national curriculum proposed by then Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Publications

Jenner is the author of A Million Years In A Day: A Curious History of Daily Life, From The Stone Age To The Phone Age in which he described how routines and habits today had their genesis in the past as well as highlighting contrasts in every day routines through the ages.
Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen was released in 2020.

Personal life

Jenner is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.