ACTOR Sir Tony Robinson has defended the educational value of the TV show Blackadder.

The amateur historian, who also presents TIme Team, spoke out after educational secretary Michael Gove attacked the show’s depiction of the First World War.

Mr Gove said the comedy wrongly poprtrayed the war as ‘a series of catastrophic mistakes’ rather than as ‘a just war’.

The education secretary, who also mentioned the satirical musical Oh! What a Lovely War said many programmes perpetuated ‘common myths’.

Sir Tony, who was knighted last year, defended the show on Sky News’ Murnaghan programme.

He said: “When imaginative teachers bring it in, it’s simply another teaching tool; they probably take them over to Flanders to have a look at the sights out there, have them marching around the playground, read the poems of Wilfred Owen to them. And one of the things that they’ll do is show them Blackadder.”