An energetic, surprising and unconventional take on history's most gruesome, unpleasant and funniest moments. From the Savage Stone Age to the Troublesome 20th Century, history has never been so horrible.
CLIPS:
EPISODES:
Series 5 aired 12 half-hour episodes and a highlights special (Savage Songs) on CBBC from May to July 2013, along with a Ridiculous Romantics special in August 2014 and a Frightful First World War Special to mark 100 years since the outbreak of the Great War.
At the time this was planned to be the last series when the producers decided to cease full-time production citing concerns around the increasing difficulty in finding suitable historical material. However, the show was revived in 2015 with a revamped cast, crew and format.
MAIN CAST
SUPPORTING CAST
GUESTS
Mathew Baynton
Simon Farnaby
Martha Howe-Douglas
Jim Howick
Laurence Rickard
Ben Willbond
Sarah Hadland
Katherine Jakeways
Lawry Lewin
Alice Lowe
Dominique Moore
Giles Terera
Mark Gatiss
Steve Pemberton
Reece Shearsmith
PUPPETEER
John Eccleston
ADDITIONAL VOICES
Jon Culshaw
Jess Robinson
ALSO
WRITING TEAM
PRODUCTION TEAM
Lucy Clarke
Dave Cohen
Gerard Foster
Greg Jenner
Giles Pilbrow
Steve Punt
Howard Read
Laurence Rickard
Ben Ward
DIRECTORS
Dominic Brigstocke
Steve Connelly
SERIES PRODUCER
Caroline Norris
PRODUCERS
Imogen Cooper
Giles Pilbrow
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Richard Bradley
Melissa Hardinge
EDITORS
Mike Holliday
Peter Oliver
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Miranda Jones
COMPOSER
Richie Webb
ANIMATION
Tim Searle
SERIES 5 ON DVD
You can get series 5 (episodes 1 - 12) on DVD here.
You can get the Ridiculous Romantics special and Frightful First World War Special, on DVD here.
You can get the complete series 1 - 6 on DVD here.
You can get the complete series 1 - 5 on DVD here.
REVIEWS:
In her review of the fifth series, Deborah Ross of the Daily Mail wrote of her sheer pleasure in watching the show without her children, calling it "still unfailingly brilliant and funny and silly, without ever losing its sense of purpose ... There just isn't anything else on TV that can match it for ideas, writing and performance."
Sarah Dempster of The Guardian agreed, adding that "Four years into its ingenious 'making history look less crap' operation ... HH remains true to its aim, with meticulously harvested historical data + roaringly well-observed pop culture pastiches = seemingly infinite heritage lolz."
Writing in The Independent, Grace Dent commended the cast in particular, saying that the show "has the distinct feel of a group of bright, young, erudite, writery-actory sparks having a tremendously good time."
Venning of The Stage reiterated his praise of the show, adding that "it also has the courage to tackle potentially controversial events head on", specifically citing the song featuring the Civil Rights Movement activist Rosa Parks as retelling her story in a "clever, concise and accessible way without trivialising it."
The showed reached its peak of 548,000 viewers for Series 5 Episode 10.
GALLERY:
