From Henry VIII to Danny Dyer: bestselling historian Tracy Borman brings the Tudors to Aylesbury

Best-selling historian Professor Tracy Borman, who helped Danny Dyer discover his royal roots, brings Tudors on Tour to Aylesbury in October.

If your memories of school history involve memorising endless dates and battles, Professor Tracy Borman has a message for you: you’ve been taught the wrong way.

“People say, ‘I hated history at school because it’s all about dates,’” laughs the best-selling historian. “I’m aiming for this to be the very opposite of dull.”

That philosophy lies at the heart of Tudors on Tour, Tracy’s new live theatre show, which visits Basingstoke on Sunday 11 October, Aylesbury’s Norman Bragg Studio on Friday 16 October and Guildford’s G Live on Sunday 25 October 2026. Combining film, costumes, props, music and gripping storytelling, it’s designed to feel more like a Netflix blockbuster than a history lecture.

As Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, Tracy has spent years uncovering the secrets hidden behind palace walls. Her office is even inside Hampton Court Palace, in what was once the nursery of Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI.

“The Tudors were the celebrities of their day,” she says. “People wanted to know what Henry VIII was eating for breakfast or what Elizabeth I was wearing. They were the Kardashians of the 16th century.”

The comparison captures Tracy’s gift for making history feel modern. Her show reveals the truth behind famous myths, from Henry VIII’s transformation from athletic heart-throb to tyrannical king, to Elizabeth I’s carefully controlled image; the Tudor equivalent of social media filters.

History has fascinated Tracy since childhood in Lincoln, but it was an inspirational A-level teacher who changed everything. “She told stories,” Tracy recalls. “She showed us these weren’t just famous monarchs – they were human beings. Human nature doesn’t really change.”

It’s a lesson she hopes today’s students will discover too. The show has been designed to appeal not only to lifelong history lovers but also to GCSE and A-level pupils studying the Tudor period, bringing familiar topics vividly to life.

Away from the stage, Tracy is also a best-selling author and familiar television face, presenting Inside the Tower of London and documentaries exploring Britain’s rich royal past. She even helped discover that actor Danny Dyer is a direct descendant of Thomas Cromwell during an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Whether you’re fascinated by Anne Boleyn, intrigued by Elizabeth I or simply love a great story, Tudors on Tour promises an evening packed with intrigue, humour and enough twists to rival any modern drama.

As Tracy puts it: “There’s so much drama with the Tudors, you literally couldn’t make it up.”

Book tickets at tracybormanlive.co.uk.

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