I mean you look at someone like Max Clendinning, who designed chairs that slot together (above) – he was so new and so forward-thinking. But today, we’re talking about traditional homes and modern homes or minimalist homes like it’s something we all created. We didn’t really. It was so much more defining in those days.

I think that some of the great furniture designers of that time have really kind of lasted. You look at a Charles Eames chair from the 50s and 60s and it’s just a classic. It’s a bit like bangers and mash, it will always taste good no matter how rich or poor you are.

I think as time goes by people just keep on regurgitating the same old stuff the whole time – it’s very rare today for somebody to come up with something as iconic as what happened back in the 60s. I think people experimented more back then and that’s the thing which comes across a lot in these early shows.

Kelly's pick: The Home That 2 Built: The Nineties and Noughties

Then you look at Changing Rooms and for me that was just hideous. Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen -  good on them for going in and doing that - but this was taking it to another extreme. They were told: ‘Go in, do what you want and don’t worry about the client, it’s all fine’. And then these poor people walking in and Laurence going: ‘Well isn’t it just fabulous?’

There was no transition from traditional slowly going into a modern interior, Laurence just took them into a dark den – like a club – thinking that was cool. But again, it’s fantastic TV.  For me that was a very defining 90s design moment. Like when Ikea threw chintz out. That was an incredible advert.

Again, the 90s was such a revolutionary change in furniture. No more fuss, the simple look. I think that whole era was just so incredible and I think we forget how dynamic and how refreshing it was for people. 

Kelly’s quick-fire thoughts on…

Flat-pack furniture: Brilliant. I mean just so revolutionary and clever. And less is more.

Water beds: Hideous. I once rented a house in Portugal with all my kids and all their friends and family. And I suddenly saw that one of the rooms had a water bed and I thought: ‘Oh no, my children are going to hate me’. And they all fought over it! I just felt seasick.

Inflatable chairs: Live without those! Anything you blow up really has to be in water in a pool.

Doilies: I absolutely love doilies. I think because they’re so kitsch. I just think they’re really clever and underestimated. 

Kelly Hoppen is an interior designer and curates Home Sweet Home, a collection of archive interior design programmes available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

See real stories of life with cancer, The Big C & Me, BBC One

Forget Ferraris – it’s all about real horsepower

Can Rory get up to speed? Top Gear: Extra Gear, BBC Three

This PC’s weirdest shoplifting story 

Find out more about life on the beat in South Wales, Police 24/7, BBC One Wales

See this super-cute baby spider monkey learning to climb

Inside Guatemala’s busy rescue centre – Natural World, BBC Two

Whatever you do, don’t put mushrooms in Pete’s food…

It’s man vs vegetables as Pete tries to slim down, Lose Weight for Love, BBC One

And finally… if you thought your school was tough, imagine sitting by this guy in class

How ‘Orc School’ turned actors into CGI characters, Warcraft: The Future of CGI, BBC Radio 1

And if you want to see what comedian Miles Jupp picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

All episodes are available to watch until Wednesday, 15 June. Find more information about individual episode expiry dates on BBC iPlayer.

It felt like this incredible celebration of wildlife had begun, the entire area was transformed. It burst into life, and we were the privileged spectators.

The zebra that we were following here were also part of this gathering and because they seem to time their migration south from Chobe National Park perfectly, many were giving birth in the pan just as the freshest most nutritious grasses were pushing through the earth. 

I’ll never forget watching a new born foal, just minutes old, getting on its feet for the first time. Its mother was gently nudging it, with the stallion proudly standing watch, keeping all others away with loud snorts and hoof stamps.

The frail, delicate little foal, its hair still wet, was on its feet one minute and fast asleep from the excitement of new life the next.

The other members of the herd gingerly approached the mother and foal when the time was right, and finally after an hour or so, the little one had the energy to skip off into the shade of the tree line with its mother, as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

It was such an incredible moment to witness, and for me it encapsulated everything that these mammoth migrations are about.

These animals take on so many seemingly insurmountable dangers and obstacles, risking their lives each year, so they can give the next generation the very best start in life. 

Liz Bonnin presents Nature's Epic Journeys. 

The series continues on Wednesday, 25 May at 9pm on BBC One. Each episode is available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Read cameraman Bob Poole's memories of filming Nature's Epic Journeys

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Will the boys warm to Nina? – Love, Nina, BBC One

If Hippos did spa days…

Watch as barbel fish nibble them clean – Natural World, BBC Two

And Bill Bailey on sloths, who travel “at a pace a snail would consider reckless”

Find out about their unlikely partnership with moths – Natural World, BBC Two

Hairy Bikers Si and Dave get dressed for the occasion at Radio 1

Watch as their rudest lines are played back to them – Innuendo Bingo, BBC Radio 1

Who knew donkeys were such good acting coaches – and selfie pros?

See what it takes to play Shakespeare’s comic character, Bottom – The Best Bottoms in the Land, BBC One

And finally, old friends Barbara Windsor and Pam St Clement are speechless watching their final EastEnders scenes together

See the old friends reunited – on and off-screen – Peggy Mitchell: Last Orders, BBC iPlayer

And if you want to see what comedian Marcus Brigstocke picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

When I was talking about the ‘true grit’ of the Britons on South Shields beach, it looks pretty blowy to be sure. It doesn’t quite capture the mad hail storm that called the close of play to the filming, that seeped into every bit of equipment we had and soaked us to the skin.

We were forced into a seaside hotel to change and dry out and then to go back to the beach to try the whole scene again. In fact, of course, the second go wasn’t half as good as the first, so what you see is the sequence before we are hailed off (and I get the giggles).

But the final filming for the whole series we did in Trier, for episode four, was just as chilly. There was German snow falling around some of the most impressive Roman remains north of the Alps.

I was trying to focus on the problems of explaining the ‘fall’ of the Roman Empire (if it ever did fall in quite the way we imagine) but was distracted by increasing frostbite in my hands. It was then that my resourceful producer introduced me to hand warmers, originally made I think for skiers, but usefully transferable to TV presenters.

No doubt most other people in the world know all about these, but I didn’t. They are little pocket-size sachets of crystals, which get hotter and hotter the more you feel them and squeeze them with your hands. Without them I would never have been able to talk about the end of Rome in the wet and cold of wintery Trier. The Romans would have been impressed.

Professor Mary Beard is a classicist and the presenter of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit.

The series concludes on Wednesday, 18 May at 9pm on BBC Two. Each episode is available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Read Mary's post from episode three: The town that captured her heart

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Two things stand out for me. First was my own exploration of the town. In the programme, you will see me wandering around the place and saying: “Oh wow, this must be the library…” and so on. I guess you might think that this is a set up.

Actually the production team were very keen to stop me from discovering too much about the site before I got there, so that we could see my first reactions to this town I had never seen before. There may have been a few re-takes, but basically what you see is my real excitement in meeting a Roman site I hadn’t seen before.

Second, and equally memorable, was the reaction and support of the local staff on site. They came with us and helped throughout our visit, and wholeheartedly got into the project. One of the young men there was a TV natural. By the end of the second day he had become a smart camera assistant, finding and fixing new lenses to the camera.

And one highlight that came with this was an interview with the ex-mayor of modern Timgad.

I asked him who he thought had been the people of ancient Timgad. He hesitated a little, then said that they must have been part Roman, part Berber, and a right old mixture – just the kind of multicultural melting pot that we were arguing was the distinctive feature of the Roman empire. But it was really nice to hear it from him.

When, a few months later, I had an email from the ex-mayor to say that he had just got my new book, I felt a big rush. It may just be telly, but there is a great hand of friendship here that is unforgettable.

Clichéd I know, but there’s a little piece of Timgad now in my heart.

Professor Mary Beard is a classicist and the presenter of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit.

The series continues on Wednesday, 11 May at 9pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Read Mary's post from episode two: Exploring recent Roman discoveries

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

He was in full musth, with a swollen head, his temporal glands sweating heavily, and he was dribbling a constant flow of pungent urine. He was huge and his tusks - one broken, the other long and thick curving inward - gave Matt a kind of extra intense look about him.  

He didn’t move much at first, just resting and taking giant breaths, blowing dust around his feet as he exhaled, occasionally flapping his massive ears that slapped against his body. Matt was awesome, even as he stood dozing.

Slowly he leaned forward as if he was preparing to rub his thick skin against the bark of the tree, but his huge head just kept going forward and in an instant he was coming at us in a full charge.

I had just enough time to get the engine going and get way and when it was over my hands were shaking.  Matt had introduced himself to us in a way to make it clear that he was to be respected.

I was also lucky enough to film a population of zebras for the third episode of Nature's Epic Journeys in Botswana, undertaking an exciting, and newly discovered migration - now known as the longest migration of any animal in Africa.

Growing up in Kenya, I’ve seen zebras all my life, but I’ve never really looked at them. It amazed me to learn that I could identify individual zebras in a herd. When you look closely you notice that each of them has a unique pattern on their stripes. Closer observation reveals cuts and scars; many surely from lions.

At first it was hard to tell the males from the females and which individuals belonged to which family, but over time it became easy to recognise. Now I see zebras as individuals who belong to family groups with close ties to each other.

Bob Poole is a cameraman on Nature's Epic Journeys.

The series starts on Wednesday, 11 May at 9pm on BBC One. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days.

Read more from Bob's experiences on Nature's Epic Journeys.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

See more kangaroo stories – Natural World, BBC Two

These hopeful owners try to prise apart two young dogs at play, only to hear the harsh truth that: “They’re at a rave and you’re offering them the library”

See the playful pups – Choose the right puppy for you, BBC Two

Nick Hewer reveals his take on the “extraordinary, terrible story” of BHS

Watch the panel’s take on the latest news – Have I Got News For You, BBC One

Is it just us, or is this David Tennant’s young doppelganger? 

Watch a unique comedy interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo – Upstart Crow, BBC Two

And finally – there’s nothing like a child needing a wee to interrupt a live debate

See how presenter Victoria handled the news – The Victoria Derbyshire Show, BBC Two

Discover more comedy on BBC iPlayer.

And if you want to see what In The Club actress Katherine Parkinson picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

But some of the new discoveries aren’t excavation in the traditional sense of the word. Long before making this programme, I had read about the way the deep bores in the Arctic ice cap were being made, reaching down to ice at Roman levels.

In these you could apparently detect traces of Roman industrial activity (pollution to you and me). I never imagined that I would actually get to see any of this precious ice.

But the team discovered that one of the main centres of this research was in Utrecht, so off we went.

I have rather blotted out of my mind the journey. Getting on a busy train from Amsterdam airport to Utrecht with all the boxes and boxes of kit isn’t a trip I want to repeat (don’t imagine that documentary travel is all arranged by chauffeur driven limo).

But, when we had got ourselves sorted, inside the rather unexciting exterior of the University of Utrecht, there were some very exciting glimpses of the past.

It was in fact a bit like going to Greenland! First of all I had to get togged up in Arctic clothes in order to go into the very large fridge where the cores are kept. The scientists, I was told, go out to get these deep-drilled samples, staying for months in a frozen Arctic camp with no home comforts whatsoever.

It was heroism in the cause of science that made my travel discomfort in the cause of TV seem rather insignificant.

Then I got a chance to delve into a smaller fridge, where slices of the Roman samples are kept.

The idea is that the scientists analyse the composition of the tiny air bubbles in these samples (which of course melt as soon as you touch them), looking especially for tell-tale methane, which gives away the scale of the industrial processes making their mark on the environment. There is a striking peak in the first century AD, not matched again for over a thousand years.

So where did this come from? The answer is from all the Roman Empire’s burning and smelting. And probably at the very heart of it all were the mines and metal works of Spain, where much of the silver that made (among other things) the Roman currency was extracted and processed.

One of the great things about television for me is that you can put these two things together in the same programme. Later on in episode two we go to Spain, and get a rather nasty glimpse of the kind of exploitation that Roman production depended on. What ended up as a methane air bubble in a core of ice started off in the terrible labour of the miners – including one four-year old whose tombstone we see.

Professor Mary Beard is a classicist and the presenter of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit.

The series continues on Wednesday, 4 May at 9pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Read Mary's post from episode one: An underwater battlefield

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

There is something quite extraordinary about the best-preserved battle site in the ancient world being under water. But that’s more or less the case. Much of the detritus from the wrecked ships (the victims’ armour, the food containers…) sank safely to the sea bed, and it is now being investigated using deep sea probes and cameras.

I was absolutely glued to the screen in the control room of the boat, watching the eerie glimpses of the bottom of the sea, the fishes and the weed mixed in with the lost equipment of those long-dead sailors.

When the archaeologists spot something really special, they have clever devices to lift it to the surface. And our afternoon’s trip was to Palermo, where some of the best finds are kept.

Among the highlights there are the bronze ‘rams’ that were once fixed onto the ships (for ‘ramming’ the enemy) and some bronze helmets. And, as the film captures, by this stage, I had really got into the spirit of it. And in fact I tried a Roman helmet on.

I fully expect to have some emails ticking me off for this. But let me assure you that, wherever we go, we obey the conservation rules of the museum concerned (that’s why sometimes it’s gloves, sometimes it isn’t - theories and rules about all of this differ). And honestly I don’t think that the object in question came to any harm.

I was perhaps a bit carried away though. As I fitted it onto my head, I said on camera just what I was thinking: words to the effect of: “I bet I’m the first to put this on for more than 2,000 years”. That’s certainly how it felt at the time. But in retrospect, I very much doubt it.

My guess is that that particular helmet has been tried on rather a lot since it came out of the water. And I bet that almost every single modern wearer has had that same romantic fantasy as me... naively imagining that the last head inside it was a Roman one!

Professor Mary Beard is a classicist and the presenter of Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit.

Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit starts on Wednesday, 27 April at 9pm on BBC Two.

It will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Mary will be blogging about every episode - her posts will go up every Wednesday of the series.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

See more from the star-studded celebration – Shakespeare Live! At the RSC, BBC Two

...and showed us that even the royals let their parents bury them in the sand on holiday

See the royal family’s home videos – Elizabeth at 90 – a Family Tribute, BBC One

Matt LeBlanc learns why car doors should not be taken for granted

Watch him burn some desert rubber – Preview: Top Gear, BBC Two

When Katie Hopkins disses your hair colour

See how Angela Scanlon got on with the tabloid queen – Angela Scanlon’s Close Encounters, BBC Three

And finally - being on the moon away didn’t stop Tim Peake from running the London Marathon, harnessed to a treadmill in the International Space Station

See Tim launching the 2016 race – London Marathon 2016 Highlights, BBC Sport

And if you want to see what actor Tyger Drew-Honey picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

See Ricky getting emotional about Kevin – The Voice, BBC One

Keeley Hawes’ character Lindsay Denton refuses to go down without a fight in the courtroom

Watch her face her toughest opponent yet – Line of Duty, BBC Two

Racoon belly rub, anyone? This one likes to wash her hands, too

Meet Lola the pet racoon – Pet Island, BBC One Northern Ireland

Who lives in a head like this? Is this the hardest quiz show round ever?

See who these bald heads belong to – ­Have I Got News For You, BBC One

Dan Snow is introduced to a lesser-known York attraction… Viking poo

See what excrement can teach us about the Vikings – The Vikings Uncovered, BBC One

And finally… ‘One word out of a million comes to mind – acceptance’

Be inspired by one man’s heart-warming speech or watch the whole series – Employable Me, BBC Two

And if you want to see what Car Share’s Sian Gibson picked out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Watch the awkward moment on BBC iPlayer– Undercover, BBC One

This look of pure young love

Watch their stolen moments together – Murdered by My Father, BBC Three

The realisation that Bake Off Crème de la Crème is not all fuzzy and warm

See the professionals under stress – Bake Off Crème de la Crème, BBC Two

This giant leap for quiz-kind

See what this contestant endured to win prizes – Can’t Touch This, BBC One

When someone tells you make-up is just advertising fertility

See why Connie is so shocked about the world of beauty– Connie Fisher on Make-Up, BBC One Wales

And finally, we couldn’t miss the impending return of Top Gear – complete with fancy dress…

Watch Matt LeBlanc being thoroughly unimpressed – Top Gear, BBC Two

And if you want to see what TV presenter Dermot O’Leary picked out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Watch the skipping, hopping internet sensation – Pet Island, BBC One

Pine realises Roper is a very capable adversary…

Watch that awkward moment when Pine doesn’t really get the joke – The Night Manager, BBC One

This special insight into what family night round John Luther’s might entail

Watch the moment on BBC iPlayer – Sport Relief, BBC One

‘The President is coming through’ 

Watch Obama bust in on a secret global superpower meeting he wasn’t invited to  – Inside Obama’s White House, BBC Two

One look from Catherine Cawood is worth a thousand words

What is she thinking? Warning: This clip is the very last moment of series 2, only watch if you are happy to see the ending - Happy Valley, BBC One

And if you want to see what Frank Skinner and Charlie Sloth (BBC Radio 1) picked out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

They are great people. Kind, passionate and ultimately hilarious. But, it’s when the jokes stop that you know something serious is going on. One evening early on in the filming, the jaguar shaman (the group’s spiritual leader), Kemperi, said that I was filled with darkness. This needed to be sorted.

A cleansing ceremony followed which involved him spitting on my face and rubbing me with his sweat and some giant nettles. Half way through, he spat so hard that his false teeth fell on to my head. Despite my giggles, he didn’t laugh. This was real business.

The rest of the crew were also then cleansed by Kemperi too – whether they had any darkness in them or not. Unfortunately  this meant that we all came up in giant welts as a histamine reaction to the nettles. Not ideal in a tropical climate…

The crew go through a lot of what presenter Gordon Buchanan experiences on screen, but sometimes he’s all on his own. When we were out filming the peccary hunt in Bameno, we couldn’t keep up with all our large cameras and sound gear. 

So whilst we were left behind, lost in the forest, Gordon ran after the men who sped off and came back with a prized wild peccary kill. It takes incredible speed and agility to hunt in that kind of terrain, and on that rain-drenched afternoon we saw for ourselves that everything that the men bring back is hard won.

I became a vegetarian when I was 13 and it’s only on special occasions when this slips. As they passed around the peccary skull to suck the juice out of, and handed us each a portion of peccary testicles to chew on, this became one of those special occasions!

The Waorani are incredibly accommodating, so I didn't want to cause any offence or confusion by refusing to share their food. However, it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience... They were charred all over, with a very peculiar texture; almost like warm jelly beans set into a rigid blancmange casing. 

And there were plenty more special occasions that followed as we embraced the Waorani traditions, at one point I found myself dining on a spider monkey's arm. It was a particularly impactful moment.

Having spent time with several indigenous communities, I can say that I’ve eaten more monkeys than I have meatballs and now after being with the Waorani I’ve eaten more bollocks than I have burgers. I’m just not so sure I can call myself a vegetarian any more…

Rachael Kinley is the producer and series director Tribes, Predators & Me. 

Tribes, Predators & Me starts on Sunday, 20 March at 9pm on BBC Two. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.