Launched in 1983 by writer Richard Curtis and star Rowan Atkinson – with assistance from BBC producer John Lloyd and co-author Ben Elton – the series went on to win an International Emmy Award and is regularly named among the best sitcoms of all time.

The eight stamps in the main set capture moments spanning four series of the comedy series and feature some of the show’s best-loved characters, played by Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson, Brian Blessed, and the late Patsy Byrne.

In addition, a further four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, celebrate the main character, Edmund Blackadder, played by Rowan Atkinson, in his various guises over each of the four Blackadder series.

Richard Curtis, Blackadder co-creator, said: “We’re very amused and delighted. It’s a great relief for Blackadder to have his head on a stamp, instead of on a stake.”

David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at Royal Mail, said: “The epic saga of Blackadder spans six centuries of British history and four decades of British television and is still loved and revered by audiences old and new. We are delighted to mark the 40th anniversary of Blackadder with a set of special stamps.”

Blackadder through the ages

There were four series of Blackadder. The first, The Black Adder, starred Rowan Atkinson as the title character, the devious Prince Edmund. This series was set in the 15th century during the fictional reign of King Richard IV, a time of poverty, plague, religious hysteria and bloody battles over the royal succession.

Blackadder II tracked the shifting fortunes of Lord Edmund Blackadder, an ambitious courtier to the giddy young Queen Elizabeth I with a bumbling retinue of blockheaded sidekicks.

Blackadder the Third was set in the early 19th century during the regency of royal heir, Prince George. It followed the adventures of crafty butler Mr E Blackadder, who spent his days tormenting his lice-infested minion Baldrick and cooking up cunning plans to improve his social standing.

Blackadder Goes Forth takes us to the mud-swamped trenches of the First World War, where Captain Blackadder and his doomed cadre of fellow soldiers try every trick they can think of to evade the inevitable order to go ‘over the top’.

The Blackadder stamps are available to pre-order at www.royalmail.com/blackadder, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK.

A presentation pack including all 12 stamps in the set costs £19.60. The stamps go on general sale on 17 May 2023.