Horrible Histories TV

Horrible Histories Series Eight 8 poster.png

The team dive into another selection of themes, including episodes to mark the Mayflower's voyage, WWII and the moon landings. With Rattus and a handful of guest hosts to lead.

Clips

Episodes

Series 8 aired 12 half-hour episodes and 3 highlights specials on CBBC, each exploring the history of a particular topic.

The series began in June 2019 and showed 8 episodes up to July. The remaining 4 episodes were aired on special dates to match the episode theme, with the highlights specials shown from July to August 2020. The Outrageous Olympics episode was postponed with the Olympic games themselves to July 2021.

This is the first series to premiere new episodes on BBC iPlayer a week before TV broadcast (episodes 1-8). It is also the first series where Rattus is joined by celebrity hosts in a selection of episodes.

Series 8 Episode 1

Queen Vic's Home Vids

Featuring Victorian fake news, paparazzi, and camera men strapped to the front of moving trains, Queen Victoria shows you how her subjects invented and became obsessed with films!

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Series 2 Episode 2

Fashion Faux Pas

The Horrible History of (sometimes literally) dressing to kill. Henry VIII has beef over whose armour is best and Louis XV dresses as a hedge.

Series 8 Episode 3

Chaotic Collabs

History tells of great minds coming together to achieve great things. It also tells of idiots combining to make an unholy mess. HH looks at some of the best and worst collaborations!

Series 8 Episode 4

Mind Your Manners!

Fred Sirieix guides Rattus through the Horrible History of Manners, including the benefits of not holding farts in and Jane Austen visits Historical Love Island.

Series 8 Episode 5

Fearsome Families

Queen Victoria lovingly forces several of her children to go on historical first dates, Leopold Mozart retires his daughter aged 18, and the Brontës sing about sisterhood.

Series 8 Episode 6

Bizarre Beasts

The history of our relationship with animals - Charles Darwin presents Yummy Planet, Elizabeth I’s menagerie has some 'lion trouble', and farting fish almost start a nuclear war.

Series 8 Episode 7

Moon Mayhem

Dara O Briain joins Rattus for a show marking the 1969 moon landings. The first use of rocket power, the Space Race, and poo floating in the Apollo 10 cockpit - it’s all here!

Series 8 Episode 8

Putrid Politics

Dani Dyer becomes Rattus’ political advisor as we look at everything from the birth of democracy to Margaret Thatcher having to change her voice so she would be taken more seriously.

Series 8 Episode 9

Heroic Home Front

A look at how World War II played out on the home front, featuring Churchill's secret loo, the heroic 'ATA Girls' and German spies being caught out by their delicious sausages.

Series 8 Episode 10

Fierce Females

A celebration of some of history’s greatest females, including Spartan Queen Gorgo terrorising Historical Love Island, supergroup The Tudor Queens, and the original Wonder Women.

Series 8 Episode 11

Outrageous Olympics

Alex Scott joins Rattus for a sport-themed special. Mary Queen of Scots goes grief-golfing, the H2 Freestylers take on a whole village, and sports-mad Henry VIII sings Get Sweaty.

Series 8 Episode 12

Mayflower Malarkey

Washington, Jefferson, Queen Elizabeth I, social media sensation Zack Septic-Tank and a host of plucky Puritans star in a show marking 400 years since the Mayflower’s famous voyage.

Highlights specials

Series 8 Episode 13

Holly H Songs Special

Social media star Holly H is Rattus’ guest as he launches his own radio station, BBC Radio Number Two, and plays a selection of musical greatest hits from the series.

Series 8 Episode 14

Fantastic Firsts Special

A special show featuring some of history’s greatest firsts, including the first ever library, Olympic Games, people on the moon and rat roller-skating on TV!