Millions captivated by show

At its peak, more than 10 million viewers tuned in to see Sean Bean and his motleylooking crew performing heroics against the French.

Bean brought Bernard Cornwell’s character to life on the small screen, playing the rough and tough English soldier who rises through the ranks.

At the start of the TV series – which ran from 1993 to 1997, with two movies made between 2006 and 2008 – Sharpe is a sergeant in the 95th Rifles, serving in Portugal during the Peninsular War in 1809. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, at the Battle of Waterloo, he is LieutenantColonel Sharpe.