Tales of the Empire

Professor Alice Roberts explores the secrets of ancient Rome's success.

- WORDS: HANNAH DAVIES, IAN MACEWAN. PHOTOS: ALAMY, C4, GETTY, SHUTTERSTOCK, SKY, U&GOLD, 5

NEW FACTUAL

The Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts

Saturday, 8.30pm, C4

How did the city of Rome end up controlling such a vast territory? That's the question Professor Alice Roberts asks in her ambitious new C4 series The Roman Empire by Train as she sets out to explore the story of the empire, travelling 1,300 miles through Italy, France and Spain.

'I really wanted to understand how the phenomenon that is the Roman Empire happened,' says Roberts. 'Because it's the first time you've got a tangible empire in terms of one city state ruling over such a huge amount of territory.