The best period dramas are irreverent

At the moment, there are two costume dramas that everyone is watching, namely Bridgerton and The Great. If you’re a fan of the former, then you’re in good company; it seems to be the Netflix streaming show du jour and millions are enjoying its soap operatic storylines. However, The Great is the real thing, if you’re after laugh-out-loud outrageousness. It comes complete with a scene-stealing, career-best performance from Nicholas Hoult as the vile, hilarious Peter III, Emperor of Russia (not ‘The Great’, as he is constantly reminded, to his chagrin) and with an equally enjoyable Elle Fanning as a young, scheming Catherine (who really is the Great), and a fine array of supporting actors giving various degrees of incompetence, scheming or nastiness.

Many people associate costume dramas with heaving corsets, repressed emotions and crucial plot developments hinging on characters receiving or missing letters, or insulting one another at picnics or balls. All of these things are well and good, but there are also raunchier, funnier films and TV series that lead us to look at the past in a rather different and less sanitised way, to hugely enjoyable effect.