News article
Sussex academic to feature in new Channel 5 documentary
Dr Feras Alkabani, an expert in Orientalist literature (MAH), will feature in a new documentary about TE Lawrence, better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia'.
The episode on 'Lawrence of Arabia: Britain's Great Adventurer' is part of the Channel 5 series on British Historical Figures.
The two-hour programme sheds new light on the iconic twentieth-century figure, who remains equally a source of fascination and controversy to this day.
In the programme, Dr Alkabani discusses various aspects of the legend of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’: his Romantic-Orientalist fantasy, his role in the Great Arab Revolt and the way he continues to be a very divisive figure among those who regard him as a ‘hero’ and those who see him as a ‘traitor’.
Dr Alkabani, said: “In the middle of July, I was in France escaping lockdown and working on the final edits for my forthcoming monograph on Sir Richard Burton and TE Lawrence (due for publication in a few months’ time) when I received an unexpected call.
“It was ITN Productions in London announcing that I’d made it through their shortlist and been selected to appear in their new documentary on TE Lawrence as they were really interested in the angles I take in my published research on the British icon. The filming took place in the historic Lauderdale House on Highgate Hill.”
The TV documentary will be broadcast on Channel 5 on Wednesday 30 September at 9pm and will be available on My5 afterwards.