This article lists the characters in the four series and three special episodes of the British sitcom Blackadder. "Blackadder" was notable for featuring actors playing many repeating characters across different eras of history, with Rowan Atkinson as the central character Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as his sidekick Baldrick, together with numerous other actors in one-off parts.
Main characters.
Baldrick.
Baldrick is the name of several characters throughout the series. Each one serves as Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character. Baldrick is the only character besides Blackadder himself to appear in all installments of the series, and can arguably be seen as Blackadder's best friend despite Blackadder's apparent contempt for him.
Melchett.
Melchett (Stephen Fry) is a family line. There were two main Melchetts: Lord Melchett and General Melchett.
Melchett shared the trademark bellow "Baaah!" with Fry's earlier portrayal of Wellington, which would be delivered at random intervals for no apparent reason. In a BBC Four interview broadcast on 17 August 2007, Fry goes into some depth on the "odd history" of Melchett's "Baaah!", explaining that it began as early as his work in student productions of Shakespeare at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he would produce strange noises in order to amuse the audience. He also notes that Melchett's "Baaah!" can be found (although in a more subtle form) in his other acting work such as "Peter's Friends".
In April 2020, Fry reprised his role as a descendant of Lord Melchett for "The Big Night In", a telethon held during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a skit which he held a video call with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who made a surprise appearance.
Lord Percy Percy.
Lord Percy Percy (Tim McInnerny) is the name given to a pair of related characters. The Lord Percy of "Blackadder II" is the descendant of that seen in "The Black Adder". The character derives his name from the real Percy family. Unlike the first two Blackadders and Baldricks, the two Lord Percys are almost identical; both are portrayed as dim-witted, gullible and foppish. In the first series, Percy is Duke of Northumberland, while in the second he is heir to the title. The title of Duke of Northumberland was not in fact held by a real person surnamed Percy until 1766, when Hugh Percy, born Hugh Smithson, was awarded the title, although the title of the Earl of Northumberland was granted to a Percy in 1377.
Darling.
Introduced in its fourth iteration, "Blackadder Goes Forth", Captain Kevin Darling (Tim McInnerny) is main character Captain Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)'s intellectual peer and bitter rival (just like Melchett was in season 2); while Blackadder reluctantly serves in World War I trenches, Darling is safely stationed some distance from the front line. Darling is the sycophantic adjutant to Stephen Fry's General Melchett. The character was originally conceived as "Captain Cartwright"; writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis were simply unable to think of a more amusing name for him. Eventually however, Stephen Fry suggested "Darling" would be a more comedic alternative; the series makes use of a recurring joke where his name is used or referred to for comedic effect.
Awards and decorations.
In the series, Captain Darling is seen wearing the following ribbons:
Although Darling only features as a main character for one series of the original "Blackadder" run, several of his ancestors and descendants are also portrayed by McInnerny, in keeping with the series' ongoing motif of identical descendants. The "Blackadder" feature-length special "" (1999) introduced descendant character Archdeacon Darling, on better terms with the contemporary Blackadder. The time travel narrative of the special also allowed writers to introduce more historical Darlings to the series' chronology: the Duke of Darling, aide to the Duke of Wellington (Fry), and the Duc de Darling, assistant to Napoleon I (Simon Russell Beale). The final Darling, however, is also a Blackadder and was portrayed by Atkinson in BBC promotional materials in 2002; the name Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder suggests an unknown familial union between Blackadders and Darlings at some point in their histories.
George.
George (Hugh Laurie) appears in "Blackadder the Third" as the Prince Regent; Lt. The Hon. George Colthurst St Barleigh, an overexcited and keen young lieutenant in "Blackadder Goes Forth"; and Major George Bufton-Tufton, Viscount Bufton-Tufton and Roman consul Georgius in "".
Bob.
Bob is a pseudonym used by two characters, both female, both pretending to be male and both played by Gabrielle Glaister.
Lord Flashheart.
Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall) is the name of two characters. The first Lord Flashheart appeared in a scene of the first episode of the of "Blackadder". His descendant, Squadron Commander the Lord Flashheart, appeared as a major character in the fourth series in an episode called "Private Plane". In the credits of this episode the name Flashheart is spelled Flasheart.
Lord Flashheart is boisterous and an arrogant womaniser, attractive to all the women he meets. He is extremely popular among his peers and becomes the centre of attention whenever he enters a room, usually by bursting through a door in a spectacular fashion. The two Flashhearts are stereotypes of a certain kind of hero (the Elizabethan swashbuckler and the World War I flying ace), slanted to emphasise the negative qualities associated with such characters such as narcissism, sexism and promiscuity. His catchphrases are "Woof!" and "Let's do-oo-ooooo it!", while suggestively thrusting his pelvis. He commonly uses sexual innuendo in ordinary conversation, for example, "Am I pleased to see you, or did I just put a canoe in my pocket?" Rik Mayall later recalled, "I was surprised when they asked me. Very honouring that they asked me. 'Alright,' I said, 'I'll do it, as long as I get more laughs than Rowan.'"
The writing for Lord Flashheart seems to have been at least in part inspired by George MacDonald Fraser’s, adaptation of Harry Flashman.
The character of Robin Hood in "", also played by Mayall, is essentially another version of Flashheart, with the same personality and mannerisms.
In Ben Elton's 2016 sitcom "Upstart Crow", Tim Downie's character Christopher Marlowe resembles Flashheart.
Queenie.
"Queenie" (Miranda Richardson) is a caricature of the historical figure Queen Elizabeth I of England featured in "Blackadder II". Though she is only twice referred to as "Queenie" in the series, this name is commonly used by the general public. In contrast to the usual regal and austere depiction of Elizabeth I, Miranda Richardson's portrayal is childish, spoiled and silly, possessing a fiery temper. Amanda Barrie's portrayal of Cleopatra in the 1964 film "Carry On Cleo" as a childish seductress has been suggested as an inspiration for Richardson's interpretation of Elizabeth I. It has been remarked that Queenie closely resembles the character Violet Elizabeth Bott featured in the "Just William" books of Richmal Crompton.
In "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", Richardson appears as Queenie and the future Queen Asphyxia. In "Blackadder: Back &amp; Forth", she appears as present day Lady Elizabeth and Queenie.
Queenie's immature behaviour is expressed in her desire to "get squiffy and seduce nobles" (and extort extravagant presents from them on pain of death). A naughty schoolgirl at heart, Queenie loves to party, play games and get drunk. If anyone fails to laugh at her jokes, they risk execution, but, to her followers' bemusement and frustration, she sometimes tires of their toadying and welcomes a more cynical approach – which is why she prefers Edmund Blackadder to Lord Melchett. Like Blackadder and the rest of her court, Queenie is later murdered at the hands of the evil Prince Ludwig the Indestructible, (Hugh Laurie), a German master of disguise who presumably after stealing her identity goes on to kill the remaining members of the court including Blackadder and Melchett before going on to rule England as Queen off-screen during the Blackadder II series finale episode, "Chains".
Richardson appears in later series as characters not explicitly stated as being descendants of Elizabeth I, who had no known offspring (but may share common ancestors with her). In the fifth episode of "Blackadder the Third", she plays Amy Hardwood, the seemingly-delicate wealthy industrialist's daughter, whom the Prince Regent courts to get out of serious debt with her dowry, later revealed as a highwayman, the "Shadow"; and in the episode "General Hospital" of the fourth series, she plays Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown who enjoys a fling with Blackadder, before being accused of being a German spy.
Non-recurring major characters.
Prince Ludwig the Indestructible.
Prince Ludwig the Indestructible (Hugh Laurie) appears in "Chains", the final episode of "Blackadder II", as the main antagonist and the final villain of the entire "Blackadder II" series. He is a German master of disguise who kidnaps Lord Blackadder and Lord Melchett in 1566 and imprisons them in his dungeon under the watch of two German guards who carried out the abduction and a Spanish inquisitorial co-conspirator. He had previously befriended Blackadder, Melchett and Queenie while disguised as other individuals, including Big Sally (a waitress at a pub in Dover), Fluffy (a sheep) and an unnamed stable boy. In his childhood his mother forced him to wear shorts at school. He also had dirty hair and spots. He was therefore bullied by his classmates, who gave him the nickname, "Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot". He despises the name to such an extent that he flies into a rage whenever it is mentioned in his presence. As a result, he became a power-hungry megalomaniac, determined to fulfil his goal of becoming King of England by any means necessary. Once his men capture Blackadder and Melchett, he keeps them imprisoned in a dungeon, and sends a message to Queenie, giving her a week to decide whom she will save by paying the ransom. However, when the message arrives, Ludwig reveals that Queenie has in fact decided to keep the money and hold a big party instead, much to Blackadder's shock and Ludwig's disappointment. Blackadder and Melchett soon play ball, agreeing to give Ludwig information on how to infiltrate Richmond Palace and kill Queenie. Ludwig therefore changes their original death sentences to life imprisonment. After he departs, Blackadder and Melchett soon work together to outwit his guards, travelling back to England just in time for the costume party, where Blackadder exposes Ludwig who was posing as a cow; Blackadder realised that Ludwig's cow outfit was too good, while Nursie who always went as a cow had an udder fixation. When Ludwig attempts to flee while swearing he'll exact his revenge, Blackadder informs him that he will die and be buried, and throws a dagger at Ludwig that presumably either kills or wounds him off-screen, as the rest of the group celebrate the fact that Ludwig has been defeated. However, after the end credits have aired, it is revealed that Ludwig has resurfaced and, now disguised as Queenie after murdering her, has gone on to kill the entire main cast by using a dagger to cut their throats although it is implied that he broke Blackadder's neck or strangled or suffocated Melchett. Ludwig is regarded as the most serious villain in the Blackadder franchise, having successfully murdered the main cast as well as being the only villain in the series not to have been killed off or even brought to justice for the crimes he committed. From a real-world point of view, this is part of Hugh Laurie's continuous set of appearances in "Blackadder", but the last of those in which he is only credited as a guest actor, Laurie having made his debut appearance in the previous Blackadder II episode, "Beer" as Simon Partridge or "Farters Parters" and "Mr. Ostrich", a drunk. He remains one of two actors in the Blackadder series to have played two completely different characters in the same series, "Blackadder II" (the other being Rowan Atkinson himself, who played Mr. E. Blackadder and his Scottish cousin MacAdder in the "Blackadder the Third" series finale episode, "Duel and Duality"). Laurie was the first to do so, with Atkinson second. Laurie would later join the main cast for "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth"; possibly, they all share a common ancestor. (Lt. George had a German uncle, so this is not out of the question.)
King Richard IV of England.
King Richard IV (Brian Blessed) is the father of Prince Harry and Prince Edmund Plantagenet ("The Black Adder") and features in the first series. The character is very loosely based on the historical figure Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower who