Clips
-
The Eiffel Tower - it's almost as tall as Dan!
-
It really is the only way to travel...
Dan finds out how Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette avoided even having to pass through stinking 18th century Paris.
-
How to film an execution
The drama team set up a green screen shot to demonstrate a guillotine execution. Thankfully it's not a real head!
-
Gory props
A basket full of fake, bloody heads used for the guillotine scene. It would have been far worse than this in 18th century Paris though, with one record of 300 executions in a single weekend.
-
This is slightly concerning...
With the help of prosthetic make up, Dan finds out about the deadly Smallpox and how it was eventually eradicated.
-
Smallpox takes centre stage
A still from the drama scene recreating the suffering of Smallpox victims in 18th century Paris.
-
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
In the French National Archives Dan is allowed to handle the orignal document, penned in 1789, which makes the link between rights and the living conditions of normal people.
-
A crowd gathers for the execution
The drama team sets up another green screen scene, this time to show the crowd that would have gathered around the guillotine to witness this gruesome and compelling spectacle.
-
Stinky props!
Some of the wares which made up our 18th century market scene.
-
The lifestyle of the filthy rich
Dan visits the Palace of Versailles where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to distance themselves from the filth of their Parisian subjects.
-
Marie Antoinette
A still from the drama scene depicting the French Queen's elaborate toilette in her attempt to maintain an air of cleanliness.
-
Taking a break
... And here's Marie Antoinette enjoying a coffee after a strenuous morning of perfume, powder, pomp and ceremony!
-
The Empire of Death
Dan explores the catacombs below the streets of Paris which were used to solve the ghoulish problem of overcrowding in the cemeteries. It has been estimated that the bones of 6 million people are now stored in these underground passages.
-
Spot the presenter!
A vespasienne, the original Parisian street urinal. But where's Dan?
-
Filthy Cities: My summer in the sewers
"Perhaps my most important realisation was simply the debt that we owe the people who get rid of our waste and ensure we have clean water."
Read and comment on Dan's post on the BBC TV blog
Credits
- Series Producer
- Sam Starbuck
- Presenter
- Dan Snow
- Executive Producer
- Eamon Hardy
