Horrible Histories scenes removed to comply with BBC editorial guidelines for children's TV

Acclaimed children's TV show Horrible Histories has had an episode removed and another heavily edited to comply with editorial standards.

The Bafta-winning programme aired from 2009 to 2014 on CBBC.

An entire episode of the show featuring slavery, Victorian child workers and chimney sweeps was removed, according to The Times, along with at least seven scenes, including those depicting child slavery, and where white actors used darker makeup to portray ancient Egyptians or Incas.

Another sketch no longer available on BBC iPlayer is understood to have shown Madame Tussaud making wax masks from severed heads.

Mathew Baynton, who played characters including William Shakespeare and Guy Fawkes on the programme, previously said it could be argued the show did "blackface" in its depiction of Egyptians.

The actor, who starred in Taskmaster last year, told The Telegraph in 2022: "We didn't do blackface, for example, but you could argue that we did.

"Because I played Egyptians, you know, for example, where you'd get a spray tan, essentially, and stand in your pants."

The removed episode reportedly featured a sketch teaching children about slavery in ancient Rome by depicting a Roman galley as an airline flight, with enslaved rowers chained to their oars and told they would not be allowed to escape if the ship sinks.

Another sketch showed how Victorian children were sent into dangerous, narrow chimneys, with a young boy sent into a chimney and told: "Try not to die."

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "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 author of the best-selling book series on which the show's based, Terry Deary, told Sky News he had no comment.

Earlier this month, the BBC removed nearly a dozen comedy sketches from That Mitchell And Webb Look after deciding they "don't work".

Eleven sketches, including one understood to show David Mitchell and Robert Webb satirising racism while in blackface, were cut.

The Bafta-winning sketch show ran between 2006 and 2010.

Comedy sketch show Little Britain, starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, also saw controversy in 2020 over the portrayal of characters from different ethnic backgrounds.

Removed from iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox in 2020, the multi-BAFTA-winning show is now back on iPlayer with some sketches removed.

(c) Sky News 2026: Horrible Histories scenes removed to comply with BBC editorial guidelines for children's TV