Henry VIII was king of England long after the Knights Templar had ceased to exist. But I thought this appearance by my good self on prime time British TV in October 2018 would amuse many of you – see the video below.
I agreed to dress up as Henry VIII and audition for a part playing this larger than life monarch. If I’d got the part, I’d have ended up working at Hampton Court Palace telling tourists about his life! To be honest, I’m not sure I really wanted the job. But the production company said I had the right look and who doesn’t love dressing up?
Plus I got to bellow about my six wives and Cardinal Wolseley not getting me a divorce. Unfortunately, I made a reference to the “pussy” leg – medical condition – of Henry VIII. Some tabloid journalist misunderstood the reference and I ended up in the tabloids for having made a lewd comment. I’d suggest some people need to a) read up on their history and b) clean out their ears!
The TV programme was called The Big Audition and I was in the first episode of the new series. I’ve done lots of guest slots on history TV programmes talking about everything from the Nazis to the Romans to the Tudors. But I’d never done reality TV before so this was an interesting insight into how reality TV programmes are made.
What you see in the video clip below is me making my way to the TV studio in full costume. It was filmed as a kind of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever meets Henry VIII. Great day and huge fun. But kind of glad a young actor got the job. I’ll stick to my current day job!
