Dr Sam Willis is one of the country's best-known historians. His work takes him on adventures all over the world. He has made twelve TV series for the BBC and National Geographic, including The Silk Road, and has written fourteen books, most recently The Struggle for Sea Power: The Royal Navy vs the World, 1775-1782 and The Spanish Armada, a Ladybird Expert Book.

James Daybell is Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Plymouth and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has written eight books and has appeared in a number of historical BBC TV documentaries.