The success of Channel 4's Richard III documentary on Monday night – 3.7 million viewers, more than twice the channel's typical peak-time share – showed there is a big audience for TV shows featuring people digging stuff up from the ground. If only the channel had a format featuring people unearthing historical relics on a regular basis. A bit like Time Team, you might think, the long-running archaeology show axed by Channel 4 after nearly 20 years last year. Bookmakers Paddy Power are so convinced Channel 4 will return to the topic that is offering odds of just 4/1 that Time Team will be revived. Not only that, it reckons Philippa Langley, the Edinburgh-based screenwriter who drove the Richard III project, will be its presenter. A Paddy Power spokesperson, showing a keen eye for where the last Plantagenet king fits in with recent Channel 4 history, said: "Richard III may be up there with other historical characters like Stalin and Nasty Nick in terms of reputational issues, but Philippa was a surefire, teary-eyed win on last night's programme. We can't help but think her earth-moving days on TV don't end here."
