John Preston was for many years chief television critic for "The Sunday Telegraph" newspaper. He is also the nephew of one of the excavators of Sutton Hoo, Mrs. Peggy Piggott (wife of Stuart Piggott, afterwards Edinburgh Professor of Archaeology), born Cecily Margaret Preston (1912–1994), but later known to the archaeological world as Margaret Guido. However, by his own account Preston only became aware of the story surrounding the excavation around 2004, and therefore the content is not derived directly from Mrs. Piggott's testimony.