Lord Percy Percy

Lord Percy Percy is the name given to a pair of related fictional characters, played by Tim McInnerny, in the first two series of the popular British sitcom Blackadder. The Lord Percy of Blackadder II is the descendant of that seen in The Black Adder. The character derives his name from the factual Percy family.

Unlike the first two Blackadders and Baldricks, the two Lord Percys are almost identical; both are portrayed as dim-witted, gullible and foppish. In the first series, Percy is Duke of Northumberland, while in the second he is heir to the title. The title of Duke of Northumberland was not in fact held by a real person surnamed Percy until 1766 when Hugh Percy, born Hugh Smithson, was awarded the title, although the title of the Earl of Northumberland was granted to a Percy in 1377.

The character did not appear again after series two after Tim McInnerny declined to play the part for fear of being typecast for playing idiots, and only returned to the series full-time when he played the more serious Captain Darling in the fourth series of the franchise, Blackadder Goes Forth. The character of the inept upper class Englishman is replaced in series three and four by Prince George, The Prince Regent, and Lieutenant George respectively, both characters being played by Hugh Laurie. (McInnerny did appear in the third season episode "Nob and Nobility", in which he plays Topper, an upper-class fop who turns out to be the Scarlet Pimpernel. Likewise Laurie appeared in the second season episode "Chains, as Prince Ludwig the Indestructible.)