Boys watching TV in the 1950s

Historical film TV and radio

From binge-worthy period dramas to award-winning documentaries, find out why historical movies, TV and radio programs are more popular than ever, with this series of articles, podcasts and video

Portrait of Alaric (LEANDER VYVEY) in the day, in armour. Alaric is in battlegear because he leads an army to attack Rome in revenge.

History TV and radio in the UK: what's on our screens this week?

Shea Whigham as Roscoe Conkling in the Netflix series Death by Lightning, beside a portrait of the real Conkling.

Who was Roscoe Conkling? The real story of how US politics’ ‘spoils system’ met its match

Was Robin Hood ACTUALLY real? The history explained.

A side-by-side comparison of the real Lucretia Garfield, alongside how she is seen in the Netflix series Death by Lightning.

Who was the real Lucretia Garfield? Inside the forgotten life of a fleeting First Lady

Chester Arthur as played by Nick Offerman in Netflix drama Death by Lightning, and a photo of the real Chester Arthur

Who was the real Chester Arthur – and what was his relationship with James Garfield?

US President James Garfiled as played by Michael Shannon in Netflix drama Death by Lightning, and a photo of the real James Garfield

Who was the real James Garfield, ‘the man from Ohio’ and doomed president of Death by Lightning?

A collage of Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau in Netflix series Death by Lightning, alongside a portrait of the real Charles Guiteau.

Death by Lightning real history: the true story of Charles Guiteau and a president’s assassination

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

Author/veterinarian Dr. James Alfred Wight (pen name James Herriot) holding up a black cat that he is examining at his veterinary surgery. (Photo by Ian Cook/Getty Images)

Who was the real James Herriot?The true story behind All Creatures Great and Small

The real Edward Guinness, Earl of Iveagh (right), played by Louis Partridge (left)

Who was the real Edward Guinness of House of Guinness?

Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, played by Anthony Boyle

Who was the real Arthur Guinness of House of Guinness, and what happened to him?

The characters of Ellen Cochrane (right) and her brother Patrick seem to take inspiration from some real figures within the Fenian cause (left shows an illustration of a Fenian demonstration in Hyde Park in the 1860s)

What was the Fenian Brotherhood? And was Ellen Cochrane real?

Anthony Boyle and Louis Partridge star as Arthur and Edward Guinness

Is House of Guinness a true story? Here’s the real history behind the Netflix drama

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

A woman in a grey cloak holds a swaddled infant to her shoulder

Edith the Fair: the life of Harold Godwinson’s first wife

Luther Ford as Tostig Godwinson in BBC drama King and Conqueror

How Tostig Godwinson’s brotherly betrayal hastened the fall of the Anglo-Saxons

Juliet Stevenson as Emma of Normandy in BBC drama King and Conqueror (Photo via BBC)

Emma of Normandy: not just a two-time queen consort of England

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror in BBC Norman Conquest drama King and Conqueror

How historically accurate is King and Conqueror? Here’s the real history that should have happened

This posthumous portrait of William I, known as the Conqueror, was painted c.1590–1610 and is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Though created centuries after his death, it reflects early modern interest in the legacy of England’s first Norman monarch. (Photo by Getty Images)

Meet the real William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who reshaped England

Illustrations of Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror

How well did Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror know each other prior to the battle of Hastings?

A collage of four images, depicting four different kings against a blue background

1066: who was the rightful king?.

Shakespeare didn't do the Norman Conquest, but the Bayeux Tapestry did, so where does that leave the BBC's King and Conqueror?.

Jason Momoa as Ka'iana in Apple TV+ drama Chief of War

Who was the real Kaʻiana in Chief of War? Meet the warrior noble who defied a king

Jason Momoa as Ka'iana in Apple TV+ drama Chief of War (Photo via Apple TV+)

Chief of War: the true story behind the creation of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

Dorrigo Evans (Jacob Elordi) and Bonox Baker (Reagan Mannix) square off against Major Nakamura (Show Kasamatsu) in The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Second World War

The Narrow Road to the Deep North: the real story behind the construction of the Burma Railway

J Robert Oppenheimer (left), and Cillian Murphy

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

Are Bertha and George Russell real? Inside the real Vanderbilt divorces that rocked the Gilded Age

Composite image of the historical Talleyrand and his portrayal in Apple TV+ drama Carême

The master of political survival: Talleyrand, the cunning foreign minister of Carême

Was Carême a spy? The true story of the world’s first celebrity chef

Several men stand around a table in a submarine

Whiskey on the Rocks: the real story behind Soviet submarine S-363’s Cold War grounding