Coordinates: 51°31′10″N 0°07′37″W / 51.519459°N 0.126931°W / 51.519459; -0.126931

The British Museum, in London, is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works, is amongst the finest, most comprehensive, and largest in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin.

Tony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, comedian, historian, TV presenter and political activist. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party and has served on its National Executive Committee. He has also written 16 children's books.

Born in Homerton in the London Borough of Hackney, London, Robinson attended the independent Woodford Green Preparatory School followed by Wanstead High School in what is now the London Borough of Redbridge. He performed in his first professional acting role at the age of 12, as a member of Fagin's gang in the original production of the musical Oliver!, including a stint as the Artful Dodger when the boy playing the role didn't turn up. Over the next five years, he appeared in a number of West End shows, in film and on television.

At school, Robinson passed four O-Levels (English Language, English Literature, History and Geography) and went on to study for A-Levels. However, he did not complete his A-Levels and decided to study at a drama school instead. Too young to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Robinson instead studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After leaving, he spent four years in repertory theatre.

Ronald "Ron" Mueck (English pronunciation: /mjuːɛk/ or /muːɪk/; born 1958, Melbourne) is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom.

Ron Mueck began his career working on the Australian children's television program Shirl's Neighbourhood. He was the creative director and made, voiced and operated the puppets Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Ol' Possum, Stanley the snake and Claude the Crow amongst many others. The show was made for Channel 7 Melbourne between 1979 and 1984, broadcast nationally and starred the ex-lead singer of Skyhooks, Graeme "Shirley" Strachan.

Mueck's early career was as a model maker and puppeteer for children's television and films, notably the film Labyrinth for which he also contributed the voice of Ludo, and the Jim Henson series The Storyteller.

Mueck moved on to establish his own company in London, making photo-realistic props and animatronics for the advertising industry. Although highly detailed, these props were usually designed to be photographed from one specific angle hiding the mess of construction seen from the other side. Mueck increasingly wanted to produce realistic sculptures which looked perfect from all angles.