The Deadliest Book in England

If you listen to Sign o' the Times, watch Taskmaster or pay your landlady, you are unwittingly partaking in the amazing linguistic creativity of one man.
That man is William Tyndale, and You'll be surprised how much of your daily conversations, the music you listen to and the TV shows you watch can be traced back to this remarkable translator.
Tyndale became a wanted man when he set about making his 1526 translation of the New Testament which was intended to be understood by everyday English speakers.
The lexicographer Susie Dent sets out to find out more about an icon of English writing.
From a surprise find in the library of St Paul's Cathedral to a discussion of "verbing", Susie discovers that alongside the burgeoning Reformation lies a story of wild linguistic innovation.
David Crystal takes us through some of the lexicographical leaps which eventually populated that cornerstone of an English education, The King James Bible, and Professor Lucy Wooding of Lincoln College, Oxford explains the motivations of Henry VIII in wanting to control a new version of scripture.
Ros Schwartz takes us through the creative challenges of working as a translator - which remain essentially the same 500 years on.
Karen Limper-Herz, Head of Printed Heritage Collections at the British Library, takes us through her exhibition The Power of the Printed Word, Tyndale's New Testament and St Paul's Cathedral Collections Engagement Manager Penny Sexton talks abou A Dangerous Calling: 500 years of William Tyndale's New Testament, which is open until February 2027.

Presented by Susie Dent
Produced by Kevin Core