When Simon Schama was approached by the BBC to make the series, he knew that it would be a big commitment and took a long time to decide whether it was something he wanted to do. He surmised that if he were to take it on, he would want to "dive in" and be very involved with the production. Besides writing the scripts, which the historian saw as a "screenplay", he also had input into other aspects, including the choice of locations. He was concerned that even 15 hour-long programmes would not be enough to tell a story of such magnitude. Accordingly, he and the producers determined that to give each king and queen absolute equal coverage was out of the question: "That way lies madness," he said. Instead, he worked out the essential themes and stories that demanded to be related. Schama explained why, at the time of its making, it was right to produce another historical documentary on Great Britain. At that moment, he argued, Britain was entering a new phase of its relationship with Europe and the rest of the world, and where it would end up depended a great deal on where it's come from. He stated that the stories needed to be told again and again so that future generations could get a sense of their identity. Furthermore, he believed that Britain's history comprised a number of tales worth telling: "No matter how much you tell them, you never quite know ... how compelling and moving they are."
Criticisms The main criticism of
A History of Britain is that it mostly revolves around
England and its history, rather than that of
Great Britain in its entirety. It has been criticised for giving short shrift to the Celtic inhabitants and civilisation of Great Britain, including England, and for including
Ireland, even though Ireland is not part of Great Britain (
Northern Ireland being part of the
United Kingdom, but not being part of Great Britain, while the
Republic of Ireland is an independent and
sovereign state). In a BBC interview, Simon Schama stated that rather than designating different periods of screen time to different nations, he focused on the relationships between the different nations, primarily England and
Scotland. By the latter episodes, however, all "Three Kingdoms" are parts of the United Kingdom. ==Episodes==