Programming note: Mud Men on History following the 'mudlarks' along the Thames looking for hidden history from Friday 2 September.

History (DStv 254) just couriered me a special press preview copy of the first episode of the interesting new series Mud Men that premieres tomorrow (Friday, 2 September) on the channel at 20:30.

Mud Men follows so-called ''mudlarks'', or amateur archaeologists who scour the banks of the river Thames in London - searching not for buried treasure, but for hidden history. On the Thames foreshore lies 2 000 years of history just waiting to be discovered.

''To wade through time you've got to be prepared to get your hands dirty,'' says Johnny Vaughan who goes on an archaeological adventure with mudlark Steve Brooker. ''Steve's agreed to share with me his decades of knowledge and experience. We'll race against time and tide to discover London's muddy history.''

Britain's most iconic river is one of the world's richest archaeological sites and mudlarks like Steve Brooker scour the banks looking for all kinds of interesting artefacts from trade, crime, industry, war, food, drink, death and even debauchery and what it reveals about Britain's past. Excited Stolli (hilarious!) is the mud hound joining the guys looking for tresure.

''Even the most mundane of items can tell a story,'' says Johnny Vaughan. Mud Men is humurous and funny and insightful.