TV interest

Halle Berry holds up her Oscar statuette while posing in a sheer embroidered evening gown beside a large gold Oscar statue at a press backdrop.

16 remarkable moments in the history of the Oscars

Two men sat outside a cafe with drinks on a table

First World War

How the work of American folk song collectors inspired The History of Sound

Could Benedict and Sophie have lived happily ever after? The true history behind Bridgerton's cross-class romance

Will Sharpe as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Paul Bettany as Antonio Salieri in historical drama Amadeus

Is Amadeus a true story? The real history of Mozart's feud with Salieri

An illustration of a witch on a broomstick, wearing a pointed hat.

General History

Why do ‘wicked’ witches wear pointed hats? The real history explained

The REAL history behind Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and more. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Was Robin Hood ACTUALLY real? The history explained. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The REAL history behind 'All Creatures Great and Small'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Frances Forsyte (Tuppence Middleton) and Jolyon Forsyte Jr (Danny Griffin) of new drama The Forsytes, against a backdrop of 19th-century stockbrokers in London. (Images by Getty Images/Mammoth Productions/Masterpiece)

The real history behind The Forsytes

Studio portrait of a man dressed as British detective Sherlock Holmes with a plaid cap, a pipe, and a magnifying glass. His silhouette is visible in the background

9 things you might not know about Sherlock Holmes

J Robert Oppenheimer (left), and Cillian Murphy

Is Oppenheimer a true story? Meet the real Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the atomic bomb’

Paddy Mayne (left), a founding member of the SAS during WW2, and Jack O'Connell (right) who portrays Mayne in BBC drama SAS Rogue Heroes.

The real Paddy Mayne of SAS Rogue Heroes

Second World War

SAS Rogue HeroesThe true story behind the drama

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror in series King and Conqueror

General History

Upcoming in 2025: historical anniversaries, exhibitions and television

Jack O'Connell as Paddy Mayne in SAS Rogue Heroes season 2

Second World War

SAS Rogue Heroes season 2 preview: "They’re very much thumbing their noses at authority"

Henry Cavill as Gus March-Phillipps in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Second World War

Is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare based on a true story? The audacious real history of Operation Postmaster

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Why Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots never met

Frida Gustavsson as Freydís Eiríksdóttir in season 3 of Vikings: Valhalla

Was Freydís Eiríksdóttir a hero or a deranged murderess?

Leo Suter as Harald Sigurdsson in season 3 of Vikings: Valhalla

Vikings: Valhalla ending explained: here’s what would have happened in season 4, according to history

Arthur Hughes as Matthew Shardlake in Disney+ drama Shardlake

Watch thisThe best historical movies and TV series streaming now

An African samurai: the tall, strong African man who acquired the name Yasuke in Japan was at first an object of curiosity but soon became a prized samurai warrior serving a powerful warlord in the violent intrigues that wracked the country during that volatile era. ((Illustration by Lynn Hatzius for BBC World Histories)

Who is Yasuke? The true story of the African who became Japan's first black samurai

Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington

Bridgerton: the real history explained

From balls to Bridgerton: a brief history of debutantes and the social season

Swedish pop group ABBA performs during the Eurovision Song Contest

When was the first Eurovision and who won? Plus 6 facts on the history of the song contest

India Amarteifio as Queen Charlotte and Corey Mylchreest as George III (Photo by Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2023)

The real history behind Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Michael Douglas as American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+ period drama 'Franklin'

Is Franklin a true story? The real story of Benjamin Franklin and the Franco-American Alliance

British prime minister Harold Wilson, March 1967. (Photo by Michael Stroud/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Harold Wilson: 5 facts about the Labour Party prime minister

Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga in Shogun

Shōgun: release schedule: when is episode 8?

James VI and I, king of Scotland and England

How did James VI and I die?

Ewan Macgregor in 'A Gentleman in Moscow' and the Hotel Metropol in Moscow

The incredible real history of A Gentleman in Moscow’s Hotel Metropol