[5] Wood studied History and English at Oriel College, Oxford, touring the United States for six weeks in his final year, and graduated with a second-class Bachelor of Arts degree.

He was first a reporter and then an assistant producer on current affairs programmes before returning to his love of history with his 1979–81 series In Search of the Dark Ages for BBC2.

[6] He quickly became popular with female viewers for his blond good looks (he was humorously dubbed "the thinking woman's crumpet" by British newspapers), his deep voice and his habit of wearing tight jeans and a sheepskin jacket.

In 2006, he joined the British School of Archaeology in Iraq campaign, the aim of which was to train and encourage new Iraqi archaeologists, and he has lectured on the subject.

[13] In 2018, Wood called the UK Home Office's destruction of landing cards of the Windrush generation an "extraordinary act of vandalism.

"[14] In 2024, Wood said that with torrent of fake news and imagined histories, it is critical for historians of all persuasions to create good narratives of the past.

[16][17] Wood lives in north London with his wife, television producer Rebecca Ysabel Dobbs, with whom he has two daughters.

[18] Wood credits his family history, specifically his relatives' roles in World War II, for triggering interest in the past.

[28] Wood was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to public history and broadcasting.

[31] Historian and broadcaster Lucy Worsely has stated that Wood and his unconventional documentary format inspired her when she was a child.

"[35] The Chinese news agency, Xinhua, has said that The Story of China had "transcended the barriers of ethnicity and belief and brought something inexplicably powerful and touching to the TV audience.