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 2: Episode 2
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Series 5 - Episode 11
Historical sketch show. Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill argue online over what to do about Adolf Hitler.
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CBBC
Series 5 - Episode 10
Historical sketch show. There is a right royal squabble over who should rule medieval England.
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CBBC
Series 10: 3. Foul Football
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CBBC
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17-05-2025
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The Saxon gods form an unlikely team of superheroes, famous astronaut Neil Armstrong reveals his new weight-loss programme, we meet Georgian London's crime-fighting genius and R ...
02-06-2025
CBBC
Series 5 - Episode 11
Historical sketch show. Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill argue online over what to do about Adolf Hitler.
14-06-2025
CBBC
Series 8: 6. Bizarre Beasts
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16-05-2025
CBBC
Series 10: 11. Terrifying Tower Of London
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01-04-2025
CBBC
Series 10: 4. Gruesome Gunpowder Plot
Horrible Histories presents the sometimes-ludicrous story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
12-06-2025
CBBC