BBC's new face of religion claims Eve has been 'unfairly maligned as the troublesome wife'

Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou has been given a primetime BBC Two series, The Bible's Buried Secrets, in which she makes a number of startling suggestions.

She argues in the programme that Eve was not responsible for the Fall of Man and was not even the first woman, as the story of the Garden of Eden did not belong in the first book of the Old Testament.

"Eve, particularly in the Christian tradition, has been very unfairly maligned as the troublesome wife who brought about the Fall," Dr Stavrakopoulou said. "Don't forget that the biblical writers are male and it's a very male-dominated world. Women were second-class citizens, seen as property."

The idea that God had a wife is based on Biblical texts that refer to "asherah". According to Dr Stavrakopoulou, Asherah was the name of a fertility goddess in lands now covered by modern-day Syria, and was half of a "divine pair" with God.

Dr Stavrakopoulou is a senior lecturer in the Hebrew Bible at the University of Exeter, and gained a doctorate in theology from Oxford. Born in London to an English mother and Greek father, Dr Stavrakopoulou was raised "in no particular religion" and does not believe in God.

"I'm an atheist with a huge respect for religion, not just ancient religions but modern religions too," she told Radio Times. "As a biblical scholar, I see what I do as an academic discipline, a branch of history like any other. And, as an academic, I think you leave faith at the door.

"I'm aware that there are some who find it hard to understand why an atheist could possibly be interested in the Bible, and I think that does a massive disservice to a fantastic collection of ancient texts. The Bible is a work of religious and social literature that has a huge impact on Western culture, and for that reason it's important that programmes like these are made."

She added: "There are still scholars today who assert that the Bible ought to be our primary reference for understanding the past. I completely disagree. I don't think you can use the Bible as a reliable historical source."

Dr Stavrakopoulou said she had battled sexism in her field. "Most biblical scholars are middle-aged, bearded men. It's fair to say there's been an amount of sexism in the discipline and, as a young woman in the field, I've had to develop my own ways of coping with that."

The BBC's religious output is overseen by Aaqil Ahmed, head of religion and ethics, whose appointment in 2009 prompted complaints from viewers who believed that the role should not have been given to a Muslim.