The Vikings: A Violent Battle (Channel 5 Wednesday 21 June 2023)

The Vikings: A Violent Battle airs Wednesday 21 June 2023 on Channel 5

What can we expect from this episode

In the first episode, we learn about the terrifying Viking invasion of England and how the ferocious Viking forces trained in Denmark. As the Vikings’ bloody onslaught advances from the south coast, Dr. Xand van Tulleken and Raksha Dave delve deeper into the bitter feud between the weak King Ethelred and his treacherous son Edmund.

Xand travels to a Danish stronghold and participates in a real-life Viking battle drill. Then, he learns what it was like to be a Viking warrior aboard one of their state-of-the-art longships. In Cambridge, Raksha finds out how the Vikings terrorised the locals and stole millions of dollars’ worth of goods. She delves into one of the bloodiest and most infamous Viking revenge methods by using cutting-edge scientific analysis.

In this series, Dr Xand van Tulleken and archaeologist Raksha Dave tell the brutal story of one of the most bloody and savage conquests in English History.

One thousand years ago, England was invaded. Arriving in an enormous fleet of Viking longships, thousands of Viking Warriors, led by the teenage Danish Prince Canute, rampaged throughout the country, spreading death and destruction. They were intent on a total regime change, crowning Canute as the first Viking king of England. Only the ailing English King Ethelred the Unready and his son Edmund Ironside stood in their way.

Xand and Raksha follow the bloody fight for the throne of England chapter by chapter as the Vikings bring England to its knees. They reveal the terrifying brutality of Canute’s Viking forces and uncover what the Vikings were really like as they blasted their way throughout the country. This is a story of blood, conquest and kingdom.

Season 1 Episode 1

When can we see the episode

The Vikings: A Violent Battle airs Wednesday 21 June 2023 at 21:00 on Channel 5

Featured image credit: Channel 5