David Olusoga

I don’t really have heroes. As a historian, I’m sceptical of putting people on pedestals.

Growing up I was fascinated by…

When I was a young boy in the 1980s, I was very interested in the Second World War – that was my entry point into history. It seemed to me that it was the biggest event ever involving the nation. Back then, it was only around 35 years after the war’s end, so the culture was saturated by it, from films on television – such as The Bridge on the River Kwai at Christmas – to Airfix models and action figurines in toyshops. I think it was typical of boys of my age to be absolutely fascinated by every aspect.

My favourite period or conflict…

The strongest passion I feel as a historian is for the First World War. I’ve made several television programmes about it and also wrote a book called The World’s War, describing how truly global the conflict was. And I think I’ve probably spent more time writing and thinking about the Western Front than any other period or event in history.