More history unveiled by Time Team’s Tony

The actor known to so many for his ‘cunning plans’ while playing Baldrick in the four Blackadder series was speaking during a trip to the castle last Friday, when he opened four as-yet unseen rooms to the public.

In an interview with visitor Simon Cleal, Tony said: “This is the centre of England. It’s where people have always travelled from and to.

“I am very interested in genealogy and have come across huge numbers of families who have got people who were here for a while.

“It’s a place that’s relevant to history. I keep coming back here and every few years another wonderful historical story explodes out of Leicester, Worcester or Warwickshire.

“If you want to have any kind of understanding of how the world became what it is, you need to have an understanding of this part of the Midlands.”

Admitting with a smile that he was “peeved off” to have not been asked to present the recent Channel 4 documentary about the discovery of Richard III’s body in Leicester, Tony said it was “tragic” that the current series of Time Team is the final one - but he is encouraged by the interest the programme has had among children.

He said: “There are huge numbers of children for whom history is a passion. Just look at the number of kids who watch Time Team and are in its archaeology club. Understandably we get nervous when there are a lot of kids who don’t get engaged with history and the work that Warwick Castle does gives the perfect example of what we should be doing to combat that.

“It doesn’t have to be in the classroom. We all have a responsibility to make sure that our children are well informed about the world and you cannot know what the world is unless you understand what it was and what it’s becoming.”

The four rooms that Tony opened date from the 14th to 17th centuries and cast new light on tales of battle, siege, murder, power struggles and hauntings.

Entry to all four rooms is included in the admission price. The castle is currently running an offer where visitors can save up to 40 per cent on walk-up admission prices by booking in advance online. Visit www.warwick-castle.com