BBC removes Horrible Histories episode and edits others over content concerns

Slavery, child labour and death masks have been caught up in BBC cuts

The Bafta-winning series, adapted from Terry Deary’s bestselling books, has built its appeal by using dark comedy and graphic moments from history to make the past more engaging for children.

The removed episode looked at some of the harshest parts of history, including the lives of Victorian child workers and the dangers faced by young chimney sweeps.

One sketch explains Roman slavery by turning a galley ship into a mock commercial airline. The enslaved rowers are shown chained to their oars and told they would not be allowed to escape, even if the ship began to sink.

Picture credit: BBC

Victorian child labour is explored through a fake compensation advert featuring workers who have suffered serious injuries. 

Among them are a factory worker who has lost two fingers, a nine-year-old chain-maker whose body has been damaged by his work and a seven-year-old loom worker who has lost the ability to walk.

Another sketch focuses on chimney sweeps, showing a young boy being sent into a cramped chimney with the warning: “Try not to die.”

The BBC has also removed individual sketches from other episodes of the children's series. 

One of the cuts features Madame Tussaud in a spoof craft show, where she makes wax death masks using the severed heads of victims of the French Revolution.

Picture credit: BBC

'Children love horrible things'

Historian Guy Walters questioned whether removing some of its darker material undermines what made the show so popular with children.

Walters strongly criticised the decision, calling it “insane” and saying that "children love horrible things".

He also praised Deary for understanding how to make complicated parts of history accessible and entertaining to younger readers.

“He realised that the best way to entertain children is to revolt them,” Walters said.

The BBC has stressed that the changes were not made recently.

“The edits to Horrible Histories were made seven years ago, in consultation with the programme makers, to ensure the series meets our editorial guidelines for children's programmes,” the BBC said.

However, the corporation has not clarified why an entire episode was removed or identified the specific guidelines behind the cuts to other sketches.

The material is still available elsewhere, with Amazon Prime continuing to show episodes containing content that was edited out of the BBC versions.