Sean Bean on Waterloo

Hollywood actor Sean Bean tells the story of Waterloo, one of history's most decisive battles. Sean's journey of discovery is inspired by his own experiences of playing Napoleonic soldier Richard Sharpe in TV films based on Bernard Cornwell's best-selling novels. In the programmes he draws on the eye-witness accounts of soldiers who fought at Waterloo to tell the story of the dramatic events of 18 June 1815 as they were experienced by the ordinary soldiers who fought it. He pieces together the chronology of the battle and visits some of the legendary places where the outcome was decided, including the buildings at Hougoumont which witnessed some of the heaviest fighting. He also meets descendants of some of the soldiers who fought at Waterloo, to discover how they remember the achievements of their ancestors.