MEDIA

I love sharing my passion for palaeontology with the public and regularly appear on TV and Radio as an expert and occasional presenter or host - see my showreel below. As a leading scientist in my field, I have a prominent role in effectively communicating science with the public, which has rapidly become an integral part of what it means to be a scientist.

In today’s world, where fake news and miscommunication run riot, it is vitally important that actual scientists engage with the public, to share their specialist expertise and inspire audiences to understand and appreciate the remarkable world in which we live. Behind camera, I also work as a consultant, series advisor, Executive Producer, and have written and helped to creatively develop various ideas across a wide variety of platforms.

I’m always happy to chat palaeontology or subject-related TV projects, either as a presenter/host, talking head, or consultant/advisor, so drop me a line if you’re interested in working together. Alternatively, please contact my agent, Nigel Hetherington, at Past Preservers. Download my media kit here.

Adventures in TV

For a palaeontologist who lives very much in the prehistoric past, I never expected to become so engrossed in the world of TV and Radio. I have now been actively involved with media for over a decade, featuring in numerous documentaries, talk shows and various news programmes, speaking about my research and the field of palaeontology more broadly, with special emphasis on dinosaurs, prehistoric life and evolution.

Throughout my career, I have worked with numerous organisations on a diverse range of TV shows. My first major documentary was in 2015, where I was the expert co-host and series advisor for ITV 1’s primetime series, Dinosaur Britain (also on Apple TV and Amazon Prime), appearing alongside presenter Ellie Harrison. I worked in partnership with Maverick TV in the development of the idea and story, which was based around one of my books, Dinosaurs of the British Isles, and collaborated with Jellyfish Pictures on the CGI reconstructions.

Stephen Fry, Dr Dean and a photobombing Utahraptor.jpg

Dr Lomax & TV World:

Working with the BBC, I pitched and co-hosted a BBC One Show mini-documentary called ‘Fake or Fossil’, co-presented with Philip Mould of BBC's 'Fake or Fortune' TV series, and featured in a special episode of BBC Countryfile alongside Ellie Harrison. I was a guest expert on BBC Earth’s series, "Amaze Me", with Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin. Notably, in 2022, I was the expert host and excavation leader for the 'Rutland Sea Dragon' excavation, featured as the first-ever palaeontology story included in BBC’s "Digging for Britain", with Prof. Alice Roberts. This was the "most viewed" episode in any of the nine Digging For Britain series. In 2025, I returned to the One Show as Presenter and Executive Producer for a mini film 'How to Bath a Sea Dragon', providing an update on the remarkable 'Rutland Sea Dragon'.

As part of Channel 5's landmark four-part series, I worked alongside Stephen Fry as an expert host and guide in DINOSAUR with Stephen Fry. I was a lead expert for Sky History's 'CURSED TREASURES' and a consultant for National Geographic's 'Drain the Oceans - Secrets of the Dinosaurs'. I am also an Executive Producer and the leading on-screen expert for the dinosaur documentary, “WHY DINOSAURS?” which I introduced as part of a red carpet Hollywood premiere at Harmony Gold Theater in LA (now showing on PBS, Amazon and more). I worked as one of the consultants for the Netflix series, 'Life on Our Planet' and was one of the lead experts and consultants for Channel 5's two-part series, 'Monsters of the Deep', with Steve Backshall, for which I was one of the leading marine reptile experts and presented a segment on giant ichthyosaurs. I was also a consultant for the accompanying book of the TV series, "Walking With Dinosaurs 2".

Other notable work includes being selected by CNN as a leading palaeontologist and explorer for CNN International's, CNN Inspirations – Wild Discoveries, and being a series consultant and on-screen presenter for NHK’s The Dinosaur Superworld and Curiosity Stream’s Amazing Dinoworld. I was also a featured expert for the long-running Japanese TV show “What's this?! Mystery!” and 'Myths - The Greatest Mysteries of Humanity'. I was also the host for 'The Sea Dragon Graveyard', a documentary focused on an incredible graveyard of ichthyosaurs at a remote site in Chilean Patagonia.

I have appeared countless times on popular talk shows, such as "Sunday Brunch" and "Steph’s Packed Lunch", appearing on the latter as a guest expert and subsequent co-host for a segment filmed on the Yorkshire coast with presenter Matt Johnson. I regularly appear on various news shows, including e.g. BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, CBBC Newsround, ITV (and STV), Sky News, Voice of America, and several local and regional BBC TV stations.

As a consultant, I have worked with ITV, BBC, NHK, Netflix, NatGeo, CNN, Discovery, and multiple production companies. For example, this included collaborating with the BBC Bristol Natural History Unit to develop an idea that evolved into the documentary "Attenborough and the Sea Dragon" with Sir David Attenborough (2018), as detailed in an article I wrote for The Conversation. I have also worked alongside writer/director Natashia Mattocks as a specialist advisor for a National Film and Television School period drama, called “MARY ANNING”, which was longlisted for the Best Short Film BAFTA. Along the same theme, I worked with award-winning film director and photographer, James Morgan, as the Scientific Advisor for a short feature film about young Mary Anning, called “SEA DRAGON”, which premiered in 2021.

I was also invited to the World Premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth 2025, to review the film and meet with the cast and crew (showing a Baryonyx claw in the process). My review can be found here, in The Times (Sunday Times).