Did you know that the Victorians invented films? Not only that, but one of the first stars of the moving image was Queen Victoria! Using real footage recently restored by the BFI, this special show takes a Horribly Historical look at the Victorians’ obsession with film. We see some of Queen Vicky’s very first filmic appearances (also featuring an initially reluctant Tsar Nicholas I), and also how the Victorians became obsessed with filming everything, from their holidays abroad to strapping cameramen to the front of a moving train (using only ropes) to make ‘Phantom Ride’ films.\n\nAlong the way we also meet the Lumiere brothers (one of whom looks a lot like First Dates' Fred Sirieix), Kaiser Wilhelm II, notable Victorian actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and we see that the Victorians were also early adopters of Fake News. The episode ends with a show-stopping song that traces the evolution of film from the Victorians’ first forays through to the blockbusters we see in the multiplexes today.
Source: CBBC
Series 5 - Episode 1
Historical sketch show. The Saxon gods form an unlikely team of superheroes and Rosa Parks sings about her struggle for equality.
11-09-2025
CBBC
Sport Special
All the top sporting action from the past, including Emperor Nero and Jesse Owens singing the history of the Olympics.
10-09-2025
CBBC
Series 4 - Episode 10
Historical sketch show. A Saxon joins a modern dating agency, and there is a surprise in store for the people on Victorian Wife Swap.
10-09-2025
CBBC
Series 4 - Episode 4
Historical sketch show. HHTV's war reporter Mike Peabody regrets his decision to cover the Norman Siege of Palermo, and the Pilgrim Fathers rap about Jamestown in America.
07-09-2025
CBBC
Series 4 - Episode 2
Historical sketch show. Henry VIII appears on a TV show hoping to raise money from his antique abbeys. Also, Charles Darwin sings about his theory of natural selection.
05-09-2025
CBBC
Series 3 - Episode 9
Historical sketch show. The Vikings launch an advert, Queen Elizabeth I surprises her court with some very odd laws and the Aztec priests sing their gruesome disco song.
04-09-2025
CBBC
Series 4 - Episode 4
Historical sketch show. HHTV's war reporter Mike Peabody regrets his decision to cover the Norman Siege of Palermo, and the Pilgrim Fathers rap about Jamestown in America.
07-09-2025
CBBC
Series 5 - Episode 1
Historical sketch show. The Saxon gods form an unlikely team of superheroes and Rosa Parks sings about her struggle for equality.
11-09-2025
CBBC
Series 3 - Episode 12
Historical sketch show. The people of Strasbourg are afflicted with 'dance fever' and HHTV presenter Fearne Polyester reports from a bizarre Greek festival.
03-09-2025
CBBC
Series 4 - Episode 10
Historical sketch show. A Saxon joins a modern dating agency, and there is a surprise in store for the people on Victorian Wife Swap.
10-09-2025
CBBC