I'm new to the elder scrolls, what race and class do you think would be good to start as and why? I don't really know anything about the history of the races but have been drawn towards the dunmer but only because I think they look cool, any advice appreciated.

Welcome to the forums! Gameplay wise, any race is ok to start with. None of them are "better" than the others. The only difference is their looks and their racial powers. So choose whatever you want.

Welcome to the forum!
Just do what you like, if a Dunmer appeals to you do it!
As to class again there are no restrictions make them a mage, warrior, thief, assassin, spellsword and on and on....
Just have fun my friend !

Thanks for the advice yea think I will probs just go with my instinct and play as dunmer and probably an assassin/thief type.

I'd say a warrior class is easiest and might be the best to start with to test the water. The top 3 warrior races are the Redguard, Nord, and Orc...people will debate this ha but they are the best all around for warriors. Altmer and breton are the best mage races if you prefer the magic path.

Remember that whatever skill you use repeatedly will increase and level you up, so if you like 1 hand swords then try to stick with using 1 hand swords for battle and so forth. I don't know how new to this system you are but it's easy to understand once you play awhile.

Take your time, the world has alot to offer and many people to talk to and get quests from so try not to get overwhelmed when all of a sudden you have 10-20 active quests in your list just by talking to the town...most quests are not in a time frame and can be started/finished at your leisure.

Thanks that's good advice I've never used this system before but been doing a bit research on you tube vids and stuff.
I'm gonna start as a dunmer assassin and join the dark brotherhood and maybe even become a vampire as I like to play as the bad guy in games normally. I will probs have another save as a nord warrior aswell just to see how it plays and see which I prefer.