HISTORIAN Suzannah Lipscomb will give a talk in Otley on The War of The Roses next month.

The event, at Otley Courthouse on Saturday, February 10, will see the TV presenter explain the links between real-life events and the inspiration they provided for Game of Thrones author George RR Martin.

Lipscomb has become a regular on our TV screens recently, presenting and writing documentaries including BBC Four's Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home series.

Her most recent series, on Channel 5, was The Great Fire where for three consecutive nights she, with fellow presenters Dan Jones and Rob Bell, walked the actual route the Great Fire of London took across the capital.

Originally a lecturer in history at the University of East Anglia, in 2011 Lipscomb was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Then in May, 2013 she appeared in The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, on BBC Two, alongside other eminent historians and historical novelists including David Starkey, Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel.

Her Otley presentation will discuss the great dynastic struggle of the Fifteenth Century through to the rise and fall of Richard III and the deaths of the Princes in the Tower.

It will also draw powerful parallels between the history and key moments in the Game of Thrones TV show.

George RR Martin has openly acknowledged that much of his work is informed by British history in general, and The War of the Roses in particular.

He has described the real wars, battles, seductions and betrayals as 'endlessly fascinating', adding: "I take it and I file off the serial numbers and I turn it up to 11."

A Courthouse spokesman said: "This is the first time that Otley Courthouse gets to welcome Suzannah, one of history’s hottest properties, and we hope it won’t be the last!"

The talk begins at 7.30pm and tickets cost £16.

They can be booked by visiting otleycourthouse.org.uk, calling (01943) 467466 or popping into the Courthouse, on Courthouse Street.