There have been a lot of rotten jobs throughout the history of Britain, especially in the 10 centuries before 1066. When the Romans invade in AD 43, they bring with them a civilised way of life, but they also create some truly terrible job vacancies that just have to be filled. Some 400 years later, when the Romans are becoming a distant memory, Anglo-Saxon England is able to offer a whole new range of miserable ways to make a living. Not a people to be outdone in the misery stakes, the Vikings, too, are no strangers to uncomfortable, dangerous and all-round grim working conditions. This is an era with an abundance of contenders for the title of the worst job in history.

If you are living in the Middle Ages, you are experiencing the period between AD 1000 and 1500. This is a time of castle building and cathedral construction, honour, chivalry and the development of the law. However there are also horrible wars and such significant hiccups as outbreaks of the Black Death and rebellions. While noblemen and their ladies flounce around in sumptuous clothes and are entertained at court and tournament, an army of unlucky souls toils away in some spectacularly hideous employment. In this time of thanes and barons, the lowly peasant is in for a rough time. The worst jobs in the Middle Ages are pretty grim.

The Tudor period is one of dynastic stability. Starting with the accession of Henry VII to the throne in 1485 and ending with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, there are five Tudor monarchs, not counting Lady Jane Grey who ruled for just nine days. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are the most powerful and best remembered. Under the Tudors, England becomes established as a world power. The government runs increasingly smoothly, the systems of justice and taxation are regularised across the kingdom and the arts blossom. But it is the ordinary citizen, rather than the royal court, who contributes most to this national success, not least by filling some of the least desirable job vacancies in history.

James VI of Scotland follows Elizabeth I to the throne, becoming James I of England in 1603 and so initiates the Stuart period of English history (in Scotland, just to be different, he's a Stewart). The party ends for the Stuart line in 1714 when Queen Anne, all of whose 18 children have died, also expires, leaving the throne to George, elector of Hanover, who becomes George I. Pockmarked with numerous tragic events such as the Gunpowder Plot, the Civil Wars, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, the Stuart period produces some exceptionally awful jobs, which, as usual, fall to the unfortunate poor or to the downright deranged.

The era of the Georges – George I to George IV, 1714-1837 – begins with a king who can't speak English, sees the survival of Britain in its wars against Napoleon and through the reign of a king who is seriously mad, and ends with a king who is more concerned with wine, women and song than with governance.If you are looking for some of the worst jobs in history, this is a particularly rich hunting ground, with life for the personnel in Nelson's navy being particularly horrendous. The Industrial Revolution also affects millions of people's lives and produces a whole new set of employment nightmares for the young, the vulnerable and the poor.

Victoria comes to the throne at the tender age of 18 in 1837 and reigns supreme for a staggering 64 years until her death in 1901. Not only is she queen of England, she is also the empress of India and head of the rest of the enormous British empire. Her reign sees Britain at the height of its power. It also sees the Industrial Revolution accelerate its pace and the transfer of people from the countryside into the cities, where most live in rotten slums and have equally rotten jobs. Not, of course, that life in the countryside is any better for those left behind, especially for those looking for anything other than really bad career choices.

Let's face it, there's always been plenty of extra work to be done at Christmas time. Be it late night shelf-stacking at your local mall, cramming this year's must-have items into valuable shop space in an effort to fuel the 'pile 'em high, sell 'em dear' festive shopping frenzy, or doing the night shift down the sorting office to help out the postie, it's a tradition for students, down-at-pocket teenagers and lonely housewives. But the seasonal labour market hasn't always been just about earning pin money and having a lark. Back in the olden days, folks had to work their fingers to the bone in some of the worst Christmas jobs in history …

Tony Robinson examines some of the terrible tasks in Britain's past, and tries them out to find the worst. He begins with the country's urban history, as he gets a bloody nose as a fighting woman, works as a water caddy and confronts his fear of heights as a fireman.

Tony Robinson examines the history of employment opportunities in the royal court, including such roles as lance-maker, laundry woman, fireworker and hall boy. He also offers an insight into one of the worst posts - purple maker - in which the worker was given the task of creating purple items by extracting the colour created when shellfish rotted in urine.

Tony Robinson examines some of the worst industry-based employment opportunities in history. He tries his hand at positions such as bridge-builder, soap-boiler, glass-blower, presser, legger and saggar-maker's bottom-knocker, before heading down the mines to experience life as a child hurrier.

Tony Robinson examines some of history's least pleasant employment opportunities at sea. He investigates the unenviable roles of liar, underdog, midshipman, flying man, lighthouse builder, gut-girl and stoker, before exploring why some took on the voluntary but extremely dangerous position of lifeboat man.

In the final programme of the series, Tony Robinson explores some of the most terrible employment opportunities available to those living in rural areas in the past. He tries his hand at being a shepherd boy, nettle harvester, chaff-box boy, sedge cutter and sin eater, and comes across one of his most terrifying jobs - steeplejack - as he tackles the highest spire in Oxford.