BOLTON has long had a love-affair with Egypt.

It has an excellent Egyptology department in the museum, and a committed history of interest in Ancient Egypt which stretches back to benevolent local mill owners.

But, if you've ever wondered about the private lives of the pharaohs, three programmes on Channel 4 in November will give you an insight.

And the accompanying book "The Private Lives of the Pharaohs" -- which throws light on the TV topics -- is written by renowned Bolton Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley from Over Hulton.

There will be, for example, answers to the question of what killed Tutankhamun -- the young pharaoh whose death mask is such a powerful image of the ancient Egyptian civilisation.

"The programme about the Royal Family describes how DNA testing aims to prove genetic links, identify signs of hereditary disease and establish what Tutankhamun, who was the last of the line, died of," explained Joyce.

The programme-makers worked with America's Brigham Young University, tapping into Mormon expertise on genealogy.

"There's a programme on the pyramids, showing modern digs at Giza and asking who built them. It includes clips from Hollywood films. The Egyptians have always been a popular subject," said Joyce.

The theory that the pyramids were built by slave labour is explored, suggesting instead that around 5,000 skilled workmen were actually employed on the task, using the labour of some 15,000 free men working in shifts.

There are reconstructions of Howard Carter's digs in Egypt, and lots of visual information.

The third programme is centred on the mummy Asru in the Manchester Museum. Rosalie David, the renowned Egyptologist there, is re-examining it and has found evidence that this clearly upper-class lady suffered from bilharzia and tapeworms, raising questions about the health of the less fortunate peasants.

"That mummy arrived unwrapped at the museum: it's not usual to unwrap them these days," said Joyce.

There is a suggestion that the blue lotus, which features so much in Egyptian paintings, may have been used as a drug.

"It smells of bananas and is thought to be similar to gingko biloba in its effect on keeping the brain active into old age, and contains flavonoids, which you get in red wine!" explained Joyce.

"However, the Egyptians didn't reach great ages, so it's not clear what the benefits were."

The Private Lives of the Pharaohs enlarges on the programme content and provides a useful reference.

This isn't the first time Joyce has written a book to accompany another medium. "The Mummy" was her account of a complex but fascinating subject when the film of that name came out.

And, strangely enough, it was a trip to a musical that triggered her writing career.

Wandering round the British Museum during a visit to London to see Phantom of the Opera, Joyce decided to write on archaeological subjects, attracting readers who are studying Egyptology and being equally accessible to people who know nothing about it.

Using notes from her academic studies of women in Egypt, she proposed "Daughters of Isis" to a publisher, was accepted, and has since written "Hatchesput -- the Female Pharaoh", "Nefertiti -- Egypt's Sun Queen", "Ramesses -- Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh", and "Judgement of the Pharaohs -- Crime and Punishment in Ancient Egypt".

Joyce went from Bolton School to Liverpool University, where she was one of four on the archaeology course, which involved science and languages.

Having gained a First, she went to Oxford where she was awarded a doctorate in pre-history on the tools of Neanderthal man.

She then taught at Liverpool, where her husband, Steven Snape, was completing his doctorate (he now lectures at the university.)

The couple quickly realised that jobs in archaeology weren't abundant, so they trained as accountants in London, largely because they were paid during training! Eventually returning to Bolton, they both worked at Crossley and Davis, chartered accountants, in Chorley New Road, where Joyce is still employed part-time.

Its proximity to Bolton School is a benefit, as both the children are pupils there: Philippa, 10, is at the Girls' Junior School, and Jack, almost seven, is at Beech House.

Having the children has curtailed Joyce's trips to Egypt, although Steven still spends six weeks there every autumn, as well as occasional visits.

She has made expeditions to the Nile Delta, done surveys in mid-Egypt and dug with the British Museum, and is currently an honorary research fellow in the School of Archaeology at Liverpool.

Expert knowledge, meticulous research and vivid writing combine to make Joyce's books an excellent source of information about this fascinating country, currently inviting people to its Seventh Millennium.