User:Inlittlestars/sandbox

Costuming and design
The costuming is decided and arranged around August of each year. The costume designers and make up artists work together closely with the historical consultants. Ros Little, the costume designer, is highly focused on costume detail and "always wants to know the precise year in which a sketch is meant to be set, so as not to introduce an inexact ruff or skirt". Additionally, the make-up artists have properly researched historically accurate pictures of people from the various eras covered on the show.

Little is really savvy in finding out how to locate and produce authentic costumes. The big Georgian and Victorian costumes tend to be hired. The Roman armour is made in Bulgaria. In a scene where Howe-Douglas plays Queen Elizabeth aged around 60, she wore Cate Blanchett's costume from the film Elizabeth.

Howe-Douglas has played several queens, including Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, though also plays peasants and many hags. She explains that it takes about 2½-3 hours to do the whole "caboodle" for her Queen Elizabeth I costuming and make up. Latex is applied to her face to made the pox marks, then white paint is applied, and a wig is added. Howe-Douglas said, "The nose [for Queen Elizabeth] has definitely grown over the series. It is ridiculously big now and a hassle to wear because I can’t breathe properly. They made me some awful false teeth but I only use them for photo shoots because I can’t talk with them in". Queen Victoria takes 4 hours due to her "prosthetic jowly neck and lots of latex" while her entire body had to be painted for the Egyptian characters because she is pale.

The actors are very recognisable to the general public without costumes or make-up, despite often being heavily dressed up on the show in period costumes. Rickard once denied being a character on the show, saying "no, no, he's got a beard" while David Baddiel notes, "I get kids shouting 'scaaarry story' at me."

Sometimes the production team who are not in the historical side of the program let go minor anachronisms. Farnaby argues that having non-historical costuming actually helps characterisation by allowing the characters to naturally look silly, as opposed to in a serious period piece.

The runny poo used in the show is made from the same ingredients used to make slime. Other poo is made out of Mars Bars and Snickers. Gelatin and soup are used for vomit.