As notorious as she is famous, centuries of Roman propaganda and decades of Hollywood clichés have painted a picture of Cleopatra that has lasted for millennia: a ruthless, fearless leader; a bloodthirsty murderer; a power-hungry seductress. But Cleopatra isn’t who we think. After thousands of years, new discoveries, ground-breaking science and game-changing archaeology are rewriting history. Searching For Cleopatra challenges current thinking and takes a new look the most iconic ruler of all time. With exclusive access to the recent expedition by leading Cleopatra archaeologist, Dr Kathleen Martinez, Arrow Media, Rezolution and Handel Productions were on site, filming the excavations as they happened, as Dr Martinez followed her quest to unlock the secrets of Cleopatra and her world.

Searching For Cleopatra has been commissioned in two different, 60-minute versions. CBC’s version will be narrator-led, whereas Channel 5’s version will include a presenter.

Searching For Cleopatra is produced by Executive Producer by Lucie Ridout for Arrow Media, with Tom Brisley as Creative Director; with Executive Producers Catherine Bainbridge for Rezolution Pictures and Alan Handel for Handel Productions.