3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Inside Dan Snow's life from ignoring famous dad's advice to wife with royal connections
The TV presenter, historian and former Strictly star is back on Channel 5 with the new series Pompeii: Life in the City with Dan Snow
Dan Snow has carved out a career as a much-loved historian and TV presenter - despite going against his famous father's advice to follow in his footsteps.
Now 46, Dan - known for Battlefield Britain, Dan Snow 's Norman Walks and Filthy Cities - is back on our TV screens with a new Channel 5 series, Pompeii: Life in the City with Dan Snow.
He teams up with fellow historian Dr Kate Lister to reveal what it would've really been like to live in Pompeii - the world's best preserved Roman city.
During the opening episode, Dan and Kate take a look at the working lives of Pompeii's people, from the very rich to the very poor. Ahead of the new series, we take a look at Dan's life...
Being 'discovered'
Born in London in 1978, Dan graduated form Oxford University with first-class honours in Modern History, which seemed inevitable after his childhood.
In a previous interview, he said: "I was a pretty average kid at primary school. My parents lifted me with the support they gave me at home: and whenever we went on holiday or days out we were always doing history-related projects. We made video films about wherever we were: the battlefield at Hastings, Bodiam Castle. We'd draw maps, too: and we'd make diaries. Dad still has them," reports MailOnline.
"At the weekends my dad didn't go to watch football; he took me to museums. So when I ended up at Oxford University and got a double first in history, it wasn't brilliance – it was all the enthusiasm he had given me."
A keen rower, he previously recalled how he was discovered by the BBC during the annual Boat Race between Cambridge University Boat Club and Oxford University Boat Club.
He told LBC podcast Full Disclosure With James O'Brien: "The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race can be a bit dull so they sort of spruce it up with videos of students going 'oh, I'm so tired and I've got to do my studies and train'.
'I was one of said whining students and someone at BBC Development said 'what about him doing a show on history' because I was talking about history in this show.'
Dan presented his first programme in October 2002 just after graduating from university, co-presenting the BBC's 60th anniversary special on the Battles of El Alamein with his father Peter.
Away from documentaries, Dan competed in the 2023 Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing when he admitted to being "absolutely terrified".
Famous dad
Dan comes from something of a famous family. As well as being the great-great-grandson of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, his father is the famous BBC journalist Peter Snow, famed for his General Election 'swingometer' coverage.
Peter presented Newsnight from its launch in 1980 until 1997 and hosted a number of documentaries. Dan has said that his father asked him not to follow in his footsteps and become a broadcaster.
He told LBC podcast Full Disclosure With James O'Brien: 'My dad urged me not to go into this industry and now I feel the same way about mine.'
A call came into his father trying to get him on board for a history programme with his son. He said that his father 'originally said 'no'' but later changed his mind.
Dan said: 'He also took me around Barnes Pond in south-west London and he said 'you're better than this', which I wish was true.'
The presenter said his father had 'hoped' he would choose another profession as he admired the people he interviewed.
He also said: 'I'd die now if my kids wanted to become broadcasters. I'm like, 'please go and become bioengineers or something exciting'.'
'Royal' wife
In November 2010, Dan married the criminologist and philanthropist Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor, second daughter of The 6th Duke of Westminster. The couple have three children, the eldest and youngest being daughters.
Through her mother, she is descended from the Romanov imperial family of Russia and the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. Her godmother was Diana, Princess of Wales.
Dan previously said of meeting Edwina: "'I'd like to be able to say we met trekking across a desert, but we met at a wedding, which I'm afraid is very predictable. We were sitting next to one another at the reception: the person who did the seating plan set us up. I knew straight away she was the one for me," reports MailOnline.
