Rewriting history: how imperfect costume dramas make the past relevant

Historians embrace inaccuracies in TV adaptations as a way to tell new stories

When Ada Shelby in Peaky Blinders ate popcorn as she watched a silent film, some historically minded viewers may have choked on their own popcorn at home, since the snack was not invented until talking pictures" came in. Fans of authentic detail were also upset when female characters in early episodes of the BBC drama The Tudors sported long, billowing sleeves, a style only introduced later when Anne Boleyn became queen.

Charges of historical inaccuracy have dogged costume dramas from the outset, prompting complaints about anachronistic language, decor and technology. Occasionally, attacks on the fidelity of a show can become a question of national importance, as when the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, called for the Netflix series The Crown to be prominently labelled fiction".