Horrible Histories

Have you ever read the Horrible Histories books by Terry Deary? They use a mix of comic illustrations, fun facts and jokes to bring to life historical events and figures. I'd always liked history at school for its stories more than anything.

Well, the BBC have been doing a live-action version of the books on their children's channel which has been winning all sorts of awards. They have top comedy writers working on limitless material with a brilliant cast of actors who have a whale of a time making complete idiots of themselves as people from different eras and places (ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, the Vikings, the Tudors, the Middle Ages etc etc).

Cutting edge Roman technology - aBook launch





The best part is they parody a lot of current TV shows, and the resulting sketches are just hilarious - think Aztec Come Dine With Me, Historical Masterchef...

Historical Wife Swap (the French Revolution)





I love the musical numbers the most, especially the ones that parody current bands and singers.

The 4 King Georges - as a boy band (!)





It's great fun to watch and you learn interesting things along the way. I'm a shameless fan.