Roberts was born in Bristol in 1973 and attended The Red Maids' School in Westbury-on-Trym, in the north of Bristol. She was a medical student at University of Wales College of Medicine (then part of the University of Wales, now part of Cardiff University) and qualified in 1997 as a medical doctor (MB BCh) having gained an intercalated BSc in anatomy.

After graduating in 1997, Roberts went on to work as a junior doctor in South Wales, and from 1998 as an anatomy demonstrator in the Anatomy Department at the University of Bristol, becoming a lecturer there in 1999. She spent more than seven years working part-time on her PhD in palaeopathology, the study of disease in ancient human remains. She worked as senior teaching fellow at Bristol, where her main roles were teaching clinical anatomy, embryology, and physical anthropology as well as researching osteoarchaeology and paleopathology. She is working towards becoming a professor of anatomy. She is currently an anatomist, author and broadcaster, and since August 2009 has been a Visiting Fellow in both the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Department of Anatomy.

A presenter on various science documentary programmes, Roberts first appeared on television in the Time Team Live 2001 episode, working on Anglo-Saxon burials at Breamore, Hampshire. She has since served as a bone specialist and general presenter in many episodes, including the spin-off series Extreme Archaeology. In August 2006, the Time Team Special episode Big Royal Dig investigated the archaeology of Britain's royal palaces, and Roberts was one of the main presenters for this programme. She is also one of the regular co-presenters of BBC geographical and environmental series Coast.

Now a familiar face on British TV, Alice Roberts wrote and presented a BBC Two series on anatomy and health entitled Dr Alice Roberts: Don't Die Young, which screened from January 2007. More recently, she presented a five-part BBC Two series on human evolution and early human migrations entitled The Incredible Human Journey, beginning on 10 May 2009. She is now working on a second series on human migration. In September 2009, she co-presented (with Mark Hamilton) A Necessary Evil?, one-hour documentary about Burke and Hare murders. In August 2010 she presented another one-hour documentary on BBC Four, Wild Swimming, inspired by Roger Deakin’s book Waterlog. Roberts is currently presenting a six part BBC Two series on archaeology in August—September 2010, Digging For Britain.

Roberts lives near Bristol with her daughter and husband, whom she met in Cardiff in 1997 when she was a medical student and he was an archaeology student. She is a vegetarian.

Her conspicuous dyed red hair (its precise shade varies at different times from a comparatively subtle brown with mild copper tint to bright orange) was often commented on by viewers - in more recent TV appearances her hair colour has changed to a more natural look. She enjoys watercolour painting, surfing, cycling, gardening and pub quizzes. She owns an old lime green Volkswagen van which has appeared in some episodes of Coast, and which she bought second-hand from Mick Aston, professor of landscape archaeology at the University of Bristol and lead archaeologist of the Time Team TV series.Roberts is an organiser of the Cheltenham Science Festival and school outreach programmes within the University of Bristol's Medical Sciences Division. In March 2007, she hosted the Bristol Medical School's charity dance show Clicendales 2007, to raise funds for the charity CLIC Sargent.

Books

Scientific articles