Blackadder II

First shown in 1986, Black-Adder II was a rip-roaring success. It followed on from the ambitious but not totally successful The Black-Adder series.

With a new writer - Ben Elton - on board, the show moved on to 1560 and gave us another Edmund - the bastard great, great, grandson of the original Black Adder. But unlike the original Black-Adder, this one - played to the hilt by Rowan Atkinson - was dastardly, with brains and plenty of cunning, useful attributes when dealing with the childish Elizabeth I (Miranda Richardson). Aiding and generally hindering Black Adder was yet another Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and Lord Percy (Tim McInnerny).