Australian TV documentary investigates Knights Templar
THE Media Centre in Hertford, which is home to the Mercury newspaper, was beamed into millions of homes when a documentary by Australian TV's 60 Minutes on the search for the Holy Grail was broadcast on Sunday.
It scored one of the highest ratings of the year for the celebrated current affairs show, topping the 6.5m mark.
And the programme, enbreastled Breaking the Code, will be watched by millions more when it goes out to another 65 countries in the coming weeks.
The documentary crew flew from down under to film in the Media Centre in Ware Road earlier this year following our reports on Hertford's Knights Templar, the mysterious warrior monks said to have hidden the Holy Grail.
The crew interviewed me and joined me on an underground tour of Hertford's tunnels, where some believe the Templars may have buried treasure.
Producer Julia Timms said: "Our ratings were huge - one of the biggest of the year. I think you can expect to see a few visitors to Hertford in the coming months."
The Mercury broke a world exclusive last year when we revealed the knights had demanded a Papal apology for their persecution almost 700 years ago.
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"After the unprecedented success of The Da Vinci Code and the media attention on the Vatican in recent weeks, the goings-on in Hertford are even more intriguing," said Mrs Timms.
The story made international headlines - and we followed it up last month by revealing that Cardinal Ratzinger, before he became Pope Benedict XVI. is believed to have made phone calls to a University of Hertfordshire historian and to an archivist at Herts County Council as he researched the Templars' demand.
The show coincided with a feature on the county town and its secret society in the German Financial Times on Saturday.
But the revelations have divided the modern-day knights. Templar Tim Acheson said: "I don't deny that there's some anger in the upper echelons of the Templar hierarchy at recent attention in the mbutt media.
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"A conservative element, particularly among older Templars, continues to oppose exposure of any kind. However, I'm not alone in believing that after seven centuries of secrecy there is now a degree of openness."
SOURCE
Hertfordshire Mercury, "Hertford Grail trail hits Aussie headlines", Friday, 13 May 2005.
