We both just want answers

Rylan Clark and Alice Roberts take a chilling trip back in time to investigate the witch hunts of Elizabethan England

- WORDS: LAURA CARRENO-MÜLLER

Rylan Clark is turning his lifelong passion for history into a deep dive into witchcraft as he fronts The Witches Of Essex.

It's a subject that's fascinated him since childhood. "It started at primary school. I was obsessed with history and the Tudors. I remember it all so vividly," he said. "Things like witchcraft were spoken about but not in detail and I didn't realise what a big thing it was."

Now, in three gripping episodes, Rylan revisits three witch hunts that define British history's darkest chapters. And he was stunned to discover the story hit far closer to home than he ever expected. "Whenever I thought about witchcraft, I always thought of Salem but actually Essex is the original and the reason Salem happened was because of Essex," he said. "I'm an Essex boy, I didn't realise half the stuff happened 20 minutes from my house."