Baldrick was a local man who fought in WW1

Luke Baldrick from Londonderry-Derry pictured at the Tower of London, a reoccurring location throughout the four series, to reveal his personal connections.

To mark a new season celebrating comedy classic Blackadder, Yesterday channel have tracked down people with names similar to the characters - and Liverpool student Luke Baldrick (22), from Londonderry, has revealed he had a great grandfather, also called Baldrick, who served in World War One, just like the Blackadder Goes Forth season.

The Yesterday channel is running the Blackadder’s History season featuring all episodes of the classic series next to documentaries about each era, and in a fascinating parallel to their namesakes from the show, four members of the public - Robert Blackadder, Luke Baldrick, Kevin Darling and Hayley Miggins - gathered at the Tower of London, a reoccurring location throughout the four series, to reveal their personal connections.

The series, which starred Rowan Atkinson in the title role and Sir Tony Robinson as his faithful servant Baldrick, first appeared on BBC1 in 1983 - and ran to four series and three specials before the final episode aired in 1989.

The fourth was set in World War One - and Luke revealed that his great grandfather David Baldrick also served in the Great War, returning home after suffering a shrapnel injury to his leg.

Luke said: “David Baldrick was a farmer near Derry from back home in Ireland, who went to fight for his country with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

“There’s certainly not been too many of us Baldricks ever since, although I’ve a met a couple in America via Facebook.”

Sir Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick in every episode of Blackadder, said: “I am so proud of being part of the Blackadder team. I think it’s one of the highlights of my working life.

“The fact that people come up to me almost every day and say that either they learned about history because they were inspired by Blackadder or their kids learned about history for the same reason makes me bristle with pride.”

Adrian Wills, general manager for Yesterday, added: “Blackadder is one of the greatest British TV creations of all time, and the Yesterday channel is excited to celebrate Blackadder’s legacy through a uniquely historical viewpoint which we hope will fascinate our viewers.”

Blackadder’s History runs until Friday, April 21, 7pm, on Yesterday.

It features all episodes of the legendary sitcom Blackadder, next to documentaries about each era.