Dean Lomax reveals all about Dinosaur Britain

At 25-­years-­old, Dean Lomas is one of Britain’s youngest palaeontologists. With over eight years of professional experience, Dean has been fascinated by dinosaurs for as long as he can remember. The show can be seen on Monday, August 31st at 9pm and Tuesday, September 1st at 8pm on ITV.

Why do you think people are so fascinated with dinosaurs?

The biggest reason why is that these animals are so different to anything alive today, that it captures the imagination – especially the very big dinosaurs that are 100 feet long for example. I’ve been fascinated by them for as far back as I can remember. From playing with toy dinosaurs to being a palaeontologist.

What’s special and unique about this series?

It’s an untold and very British story. The term ‘dinosaur’ was termed in this country by a Bri1sh scientist. It all started life here. Today, much of palaeontology can feel like it’s primarily in North America or China. But in fact it started here, there’s numerous discoveries, thousands of bones. In this series you’ve got real specimens and scientists, but it’s brought to life in a very distinctive way with the CGI dinosaurs. Plus, it’s dinosaurs that are unique to Britain that haven’t been found elsewhere in the world.

Did you learn anything new during the series?

I’ve learnt quite a bit and I visited some location that I hadn’t been to before to examine specimens. It’s opened my eyes even further to some of the amazing discoveries that there’s been.

Where would you recommend dinosaur lovers to visit?

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Dinosaur Isle museum on the Isle of Wight, and of course the Natural History Museum in London – they’re all fantastic places to go and visit, see real­‐life specimens and learn about how dinosaurs lived. If you’re looking for dino bones, then the south-‐west coast of the Isle of Wight is the best place in Europe to look for them. The Yorkshire coast is great for dinosaur footprints.

How did Ellie find the experience?

Ellie’s lovely, it’s been really a real pleasure to work with her. She had a genuine interest to learn more about this – she’s been fascinated by it. Since we finished filming, Ellie’s been emailing back and forth with further questions because she’s been so inspired by it. Excellent!

Courtesy of itv