The Foretelling The Foretelling "The Foretelling" is the first episode of the BBC sitcom "The Black Adder", the first series of the long-running comedy programme "Blackadder". It marks Rowan Atkinson's début as the character Edmund Blackadder, and is the first appearance of the recurring characters Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and Percy (Tim McInnerny). The comedy actor Peter Cook guest stars as King Richard III. "The Black Adder" is a historical comedy set in late Medieval England on the cusp of the Tudor Period, and centres on the eponymous "Black Adder", the pseudonym adopted from this episode onwards by Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh.
The Queen of Spain's Beard he attacked the country in 1587. As with other episodes in this series, the end credits include an acknowledgement of "additional dialogue by William Shakespeare". One scene includes a parody of "Richard III" in which the third messenger announces in deadpan style the death of Lord Wessex. The fictitious King Richard IV retorts, "I like not this news! Bring me some other news!" echoing Richard III's rebuke to a messenger, "There, take thou that till thou bring better news." (Act 4, scene 4) The episode introduces a recurring guest star to the "Blackadder" series, Miriam Margolyes, who plays the part