Series 1 poster
13 episodes

Horrible Histories - Series 1

First aired Apr 16, 2009Season 1

All 13 episodes of the BBC series! History with the nasty bits left in! Based on the bestselling series of books for kids (and for adults, but they just won't admit it), Horrible Histories is an anarchic, surprising and unconventional take on history's most gruesome and funny moments. Foul facts, rotten rulers, beastly battles and evil inventions feature in horribly hilarious sketches, songs, cartoons and quizzes - all linked by the show's host, a talking rat! Liberally splattered with guts, blood and poo, Horrible Histories romps through the ages with fascinating facts from the Savage Stone Age, Awful Egyptians, Rotten Romans and Vicious Vikings, taking in the Measly Middle Ages, Terrible Tudors, Gorgeous Georgians and Vile Victorians, right up to the Woeful Second World War.

Episodes

Episode 1 still

Episode 1

Episode 1

6.7
Apr 16, 200930 min3 votes

A pirate captain worries about an early bedtime and the four King Georges form a boyband.

Episode 2 still

Episode 2

Episode 2

6.3
Apr 23, 200930 min3 votes

A Stone Age doctor tries to help a modern patient and a Pharaoh invents the pyramid.

Episode 3 still

Episode 3

Episode 3

6.0
Apr 30, 200930 min3 votes

A Roman emperor finds a nasty alternative to candles, and an Egyptian tries to save money.

Episode 4 still

Episode 4

Episode 4

6.8
May 7, 200930 min4 votes

The Tudors sing their family history, Bob explains the complete history of Rome in two minutes, and a mad Victorian gentleman eats King Louis XIV's mummified heart.

Episode 5 still

Episode 5

Episode 5

7.0
May 14, 200930 min2 votes

A priest makes a piano from live pigs, Emperor Caligula declares war on the sea, and there are some disgusting beauty tips from Ancient Egypt.

Episode 6 still

Episode 6

Episode 6

7.0
May 21, 200930 min2 votes

An evil Greek god appears on a daytime chat show, a rich Georgian swaps his wife with a peasant, and we meet some weird medieval monsters.

Episode 7 still

Episode 7

Episode 7

7.5
May 28, 200930 min2 votes

There is a terrible smell in the Houses of Parliament, Cinderella struggles with the Blitz, and Helen of Troy reveals her complicated love life.

Episode 8 still

Episode 8

Episode 8

6.0
Jun 4, 200930 min1 votes

The Saxons exchange disgusting Christmas presents, a caveman goes on a TV cookery show, and we discover the bizarre causes of the First World War.

Episode 9 still

Episode 9

Episode 9

7.0
Jun 11, 200930 min1 votes

A Victorian inspector checks that school is suitably cruel, HHTV News reports live from the Great Plague, and Thumbelina drowns unpleasantly.

Episode 10 still

Episode 10

Episode 10

7.0
Jun 18, 200930 min1 votes

HHTV News reports live from the Battle of Thermopylae, Celt housewives find decorative uses for severed heads, and we learn the revolting truth about Roman toilets.

Episode 11 still

Episode 11

Episode 11

8.0
Jun 25, 200930 min2 votes

Queen Victoria learns that her British comforts are not very British, a Viking warrior won't stop talking in rhyme, and on 'Axe Factor', the contestants try to become executioners.

Episode 12 still

Episode 12

Episode 12

7.5
Jul 2, 200930 min2 votes

A Victorian teacher is confused by her pupils' bizarre names, the Romans run out of animals to execute, and Queen Victoria advertises her exercise DVD.

Episode 13 still

Episode 13

Episode 13

7.0
Jul 9, 200930 min1 votes

A lazy aristocrat invents the sandwich, the Romans host their own revolting cookery show and William Shakespeare is haunted by the ghost of King Richard III.