If you want to be a TV star but are not an instant pundit on wars, go get a job at Leicester University, where no fewer than four academics are featuring in various television series. Geologist Sarah Gabbott plays a leading role in all seven episodes of Channel 4's The Big Dig this summer; the head of English, Elaine Treharne, and Simon Jones of the school of archaeology and ancient history are starring in another Channel 4 series - The Seven Ages of Britain ; and historian Jo Story, a veteran of Time Team, will be presenting The History Detectives for Carlton.