David Dimbleby 'Land Rover' documentaries set to end

David Dimbleby looks set to hang up his Land Rover keys after three BBC1 series exploring Britain's history, heritage and culture, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal. The three series – A Picture of Britain in 2005, followed by How We Built Britain and this year's Seven Ages of Britain – aired on BBC1 on Sunday nights and featured Dimbleby travelling the country in a Land Rover. But they are unlikely to be followed up with a fourth tour for Dimbleby, according to the BBC's commissioner for arts, Mark Bell. Bell told MediaGuardian.co.uk that the BBC was looking for "other projects" for Dimbleby, 71, who won plaudits for his marathon stint anchoring the corporation's election coverage earlier this month. "We are not mothballing David but I don't know about the Land Rover," he said. "We have done three series about history and heritage of Britain and we are looking at other projects for him, I wouldn't say never but we need to think of other things for him to do." A Picture of Britain celebrated British and Irish paintings, poetry, music, and landscapes; while How We Built Britain explored the chronological history of British architecture by visiting a region of Britain and its historic buildings each week. The most recent series, Seven Ages of Britain examined artefacts including the Bayeux tapestry. A BBC spokeswoman said: "David Dimbleby is an important presenter for the BBC and we are actively looking at, and discussing, new arts and history ideas for David to lead in the next year or two." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".