MEDIA

I love sharing my passion for palaeontology with the public and regularly appear on TV and Radio as an expert and occasional presenter or host - see my showreel below. As a leading scientist in my field, I have a prominent role in effectively communicating science with the public, which has rapidly become an integral part of what it means to be a scientist.

In today’s world, where fake news and miscommunication run riot, it is vitally important that actual scientists engage with the public, to share their specialist expertise and inspire audiences to understand and appreciate the remarkable world in which we live. Behind camera, I also work as a consultant and have written and helped to creatively develop various ideas across a wide variety of platforms.

I’m always happy to chat palaeontology or subject-related TV projects, either as a presenter/host, talking head, or consultant/advisor, so drop me a line if you’re interested in working together. Alternatively, please contact my agent, Nigel Hetherington, at Past Preservers. Download my media kit here.

Adventures in TV

For a palaeontologist who lives very much in the prehistoric past, I never expected to become so engrossed in the world of TV and Radio. I have now been actively involved with the media for over a decade, featuring in numerous documentaries, talk shows and various news programmes, speaking about my research and the field of palaeontology, with special emphasis on dinosaurs, prehistoric life and evolution.

Throughout my career, I have worked with a bunch of organisations on a diverse range of TV shows. One of my first major documentaries was in 2015, where I was the expert co-host and series advisor for ITV’s primetime series, Dinosaur Britain (also on Apple TV and Amazon Prime), appearing alongside presenter Ellie Harrison. I worked in partnership with Maverick TV in the development of the idea and story, which was based around one of my books, Dinosaurs of the British Isles, and collaborated with Jellyfish Pictures on the CGI reconstructions.

Stephen Fry, Dr Dean and a photobombing Utahraptor.jpg

Dr Lomax and the world of TV:

Working with the BBC, I pitched and co-hosted a BBC One Show mini-documentary called ‘Fake or Fossil’, co-presented with Philip Mould of BBC's 'Fake or Fortune' TV series, and featured in a special episode of BBC Countryfile. I was a guest expert on BBC Earth’s series, "Amaze Me", with Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin. Notably, in 2022, I was the expert host and excavation leader for the 'Rutland Sea Dragon' excavation, featured as the first-ever palaeontology story included in BBC’s "Digging for Britain", with Prof. Alice Roberts. This was the "most viewed" episode in any of the nine Digging For Britain series.

Most recently, I worked alongside Stephen Fry as an expert host and guide in Channel 5's landmark four-part series, DINOSAUR with Stephen Fry. I was a lead expert for Sky History's 'CURSED TREASURES' and a consultant for Nat Geo's 'Drain the Oceans - Secrets of the Dinosaurs'. I am also an Executive Producer and the leading on-screen expert for the dino documentary, “Why Dinosaurs?” which I introduced as part of a red carpet Hollywood premiere at Harmony Gold Theater in LA. Additionally, I worked as one of the consultants for the Netflix series, 'Life on Our Planet' and one of the lead experts and consultants for 'Monsters of the Deep', with Steve Backshall.

Other notable work includes being selected by CNN as a leading palaeontologist and explorer for CNN International's, CNN Inspirations – Wild Discoveries, and being a series consultant and on-screen presenter for NHK’s (Japan) The Dinosaur Superworld and Curiosity Stream’s Amazing Dinoworld. I was also a featured expert for the long-running Japanese TV show “What's this?! Mystery!” and 'Myths - The Greatest Mysteries of Humanity'.

I have appeared multiple times on popular talk shows, such as Sunday Brunch and "Steph’s Packed Lunch", appearing on the latter as a guest expert and subsequent co-host for a segment filmed on the Yorkshire coast. I regularly appear on various news shows, including e.g. BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, CBBC Newsround, ITV (and STV), Sky News, Voice of America, and several local BBC TV stations.

As a consultant, I have also worked with ITV, BBC, NHK, Netflix, NatGeo, CNN and multiple production companies. For example, this included collaborating with the BBC Bristol Natural History Unit to develop an idea that evolved into the documentary "Attenborough and the Sea Dragon" with Sir David Attenborough (2018), as detailed in an article I wrote for The Conversation. I have also worked alongside writer/director Natashia Mattocks as a specialist advisor for a National Film and Television School period drama, called “MARY ANNING”, which was longlisted for the Best Short Film BAFTA. Along the same theme, I worked with award-winning film director and photographer, James Morgan, as the Scientific Advisor for a short feature film about young Mary Anning, called “SEA DRAGON”, which premiered in 2021.