Su Holmes

I have historically published on TV, popular culture and celebrity, but in recent years have published on gender and eating disorders.

My research focuses on British television history (especially the 1950s), contemporary television genres (such Reality TV and quiz shows), and the subject of celebrity. In my historical research on British television (British TV and Film in the 1950s, Entertaining TV: the BBC and Popular Programme Culture in the 1950s), I have been keen to challenge received ideas about British television history, whether with regard to its relations with the film industry in the early years, or the canonical ideas about early BBC television rejecting notions of the ‘popular’.

With regard to British reality TV, I have examined aspects of historical development, issues of generic labeling and circulation, and questions of celebrity. In addition to this, my work on celebrity has aimed to contribute to historical knowledge about British television and celebrity, as well as the relationship between celebrity and femininity. I also co-edit the Routledge journal Celebrity Studies.