Horrible Histories is a British children's sketch comedy television series, part of the children's history franchise of the same name based on the books written by Terry Deary. The show was produced for CBBC by Lion Television with Citrus Television.

The TV show carries over the graphic style and much of the content of the Horrible Histories book series. It maintains the franchise's overall irreverent but accurate focus on the dark, gruesome or scatological aspects of British and other Western world history, spanning from the Stone Age to the post-World War II era. Individual historical eras or civilisations are defined and named as in the books, with sketches from several different time periods combined within a single episode.

In 2011, a spin-off game show, Horrible Histories: Gory Games, was launched on CBBC. In the same year, the original show was repackaged for main channel BBC One as Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry, with Fry replacing the puppet rat as presenter.

Cast
 Richard Atwill (2016 Specials)
 Mathew Baynton (Series 1 - 5)
 Richard David-Caine (2016 Specials - Series 7)
 Simon Farnaby (Series 1 - 6)
 Sarah Hadland (Series 1 - 2; "also starring" in Series 4 - 5, guest starring in Series 6)
 Jalaal Hartley (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Martha Howe-Douglas (Series 1 - 5)
 Jim Howick (Series 1 - 6)
 Samson Kayo (Series 7)
 Naz Osmanoglu (Series 6)
 Jessica Ransom (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Adam Riches (Series 6)
 Laurence Rickard (Series 1 - 5)
 Ryan Sampson (Series 7)
 Tom Stourton (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Thom Tuck (2016 Specials)
 Gemma Whelan (2016 Specials - Series 7)
 Ben Willbond (Series 1 - 5)

Supporting cast:
 Lolly Adefope (Series 7)
 Lisa Devlin (Series 1)
 Susie Donkin (Series 1 - 5)
 Louise Ford  (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Jalaal Hartley (Series 4)
 Katherine Jakeways (Series 4 - 6)
 Lawry Lewin (Series 2 - 6)
 Jason Lewis (Series 4, 6)
 Bhavna Limbachia (Series 6)
 Dan Li (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Alice Lowe (Series 2 - 3, 5)
 Nathaniel Martello-White (Series 2)
 James McNicholas (Series 7)
 Dominique Moore (Series 2 - 2016 Specials)
 Tom Palmer (Series 7)
 Javone Prince (Series 1)
 Steve Punt (Series 1, 5)
 Jessica Ransom (Series 4 - 5)
 George Sawyer (Series 1)
 Rhashan Stone (Series 3)
 Daniel Lawrence Taylor (Series 2, 2016 Specials)
 Giles Terera (Series 1 - Series 6)
 Natalie Walter (Series 6 - 2016 Specials)
 Katy Wix (Series 1 - 4)
 Ellie White (Series 7)
 Sophie Wu (Series 6 - Series 7)

Guest starring:
 Chris Addison (Series 4)
 Rowan Atkinson (Series 6)
 David Baddiel (Series 2 - 3)
 Sanjeev Bhaskar (Series 6 - Series 7)
 Terry Deary (Series 1 - 3, 5)
 Jermain Defoe (Series 4)
 Kathryn Drysdale (Series 6)
 Kevin Eldon (Series 6)
 Mark Gatiss (Series 4 - 5)
 Mel Giedroyc (2016 Specials)
 Tanni Grey-Thompson (Series 3)
 Miles Jupp (2016 Specials)
 Amir Khan (Series 4)
 Ben Miller (Series 6)
 Al Murray (Series 5)
 Steve Pemberton (Series 4 - 5)
 Tom Rosenthal (Series 6)
 Alexei Sayle (Series 2)
 Reece Shearsmith (Series 4 - 5)
 Fred Sirieix (Series 7)
 Meera Syal (Series 1)
 Lorna Watson (Series 6)
 Robert Webb (2016 Specials)

Puppeteer:
 John Eccelston as Rattus Rattus

Additional Voices:
 Jon Culshaw
 Jess Robinson
 Dave Lamb (Series 2 - 3, 5)

Features
These are the eras and civilizations that feature in the TV series:
 Savage Stone Age
 Groovy Greeks
 Rotten Romans
 Potty Pioneers
 Putrid Pirates
 Slimy Stuarts
 Smashing Saxons
 Cut-Throat Celts
 Terrible Tudors
 Measly Middle Ages
 Frightful First World War
 Woeful Second World War
 Vile Victorians
 Vicious Vikings
 Ruthless Rulers
 Awful Egyptians
 Gorgeous Georgians
 Incredible Incas
 Awesome USA
 Savage Songs
 Angry Aztecs
 Fabulous French
 Nasty Knights
 Wild Warriors
 Radical Renaissance
 Shocking Scotland
 Troublesome 20th Century

Awards and nominations
Horrible Histories received numerous domestic and international awards and nominations, including several BAFTA Children's Awards, two British Comedy Awards and a Rose d'Or Award for Best Children's Programme. It is the first children's programme to win a British Comedy Award and four successive children's BAFTAs, for Best Comedy. In 2013 the show was also named in a Radio Times poll of all-time greatest British children's TV series, and was cited at No. 8 in a similar Top 50 list presented later the same year by Channel Five.

References

Other websites
 
 We're History  (available only in the United Kingdom)
 Yonderlanders: Celebrating the collective art of Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, and Ben Willbond

2009 British television series debuts
2013 television series endings
2000s British television series
2010s British television series
BBC Television programmes
British children's television series
British comedy television series
English-language television programs