Blackadder II size of the principal cast was reduced compared to the previous series, with a fixed number of characters appearing in every episode. Richard Curtis has been quoted as saying that due to the familiar cast, the series was the happiest for him to work on, comparing it to a "friendly bunch of school chums". The series also featured at least one significant cameo role per episode. Notable appearances include Rik Mayall as the debonair Lord Flashheart in "Bells"; Tom Baker and Simon Jones as Captain Redbeard Rum and Sir Walter Raleigh, respectively, in "Potato"; Miriam Margolyes, who had appeared in
Sir Walter Gilbert, 1st Baronet Sir Walter Gilbert, 1st Baronet General Sir Walter Raleigh Gilbert, 1st Baronet, (18 March 1785, Bodmin – 12 May 1853, Stevens' Hotel, Bond Street, London) was an army officer in the British East India Company. He was the third son of the Revd Edmund Gilbert (d. 1816), vicar of Constantine and rector of Helland, Cornwall, and his wife, the daughter of Henry Garnett of Bristol. Like Sir Humphrey Gilbert, he was a member of the Devon family of Gilbert of Compton and he was named after Sir Humphrey's stepbrother Sir Walter Raleigh. He gained a cadetship in the Bengal Infantry