The Museum, BBC2

9:48am Friday 11th May 2007

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DON'T you just love boffins?

One of the great British inventions has to be the expert (OK they're not an invention but you know what I mean) and last night a series started on BBC2 which promises to be one for connoisseurs.

The imaginatively titled The Museum took us behind the scenes of that great institution, The British Museum.

In doing so it opened up the secret world of the curators and conservation experts whose painstaking devotion to duty demonstrates that it's far more than a job.

It may be geeky to admit it but there was something almost mesmerising watching art restorer Karen who has spent six years of her life working on an Egyptian wall painting.

Regarded as the ancient world's equivalent of the Mona Lisa, the patience and steady nerve displayed was incredible. Every day she has known that one mistake and a priceless relic could be destroyed - now that's pressure.

Apparently there are over seven million items in the museum ranging from the fabulous to the downright bizarre. And ever single one of them is cared for by one expert or another, who regard them with the same warmth a parent loves a child.

The good news - there are nine more programmes to come. It's boffin heaven!