Radio Times: Review by:; David Butcher

In 80 years’ time there will be a generation of pensioners in Britain still holding preconceptions about the Romans or Charles II that were formed by this CBBC sketch show. It’s a phenomenon that has done more to form its viewers’ sense of history than a legion of primary school teachers.

Whether or not you like HH’s basic take on the past – not so much a foreign country as a lunatic asylum full of mad monarchs – you can’t end an episode without absorbing half-a-dozen quirky nuggets.

Among those in this first episode of the fourth series: in the 1630s they collected women’s urine to make gunpowder; ancient Egyptians believed the sun was rolled across the heavens by a giant dung-beetle; and it was Oliver Cromwell who coined the phrase “warts and all”. Another triumph.

About this programme

Historical characters and events are explored in sketches, cartoons and quizzes, based on the books by Terry Deary. Comedy talent including Sarah Hadland, Steve Punt and Meera Syal help bring the strange facts, gory battles and crazy inventions to life.