Film and television are more influential in inspiring interest in history than education, new research has found. Visiting a historical site can also be instrumental in igniting interest in a particular historical era, according to the research from English Heritage. Film, television and theatre was found to the be the most significant factor in driving curiosity about a particular era, with more than half (52%) of respondents naming it top, while education came second with 45% and a visit to a site came third (38%).

Almost seven in 10 (68%) respondents could identify a favourite historical era, with the World Wars named as the most popular (15%), followed by the Roman and Victorian eras (both 10%), with the Tudors coming in fourth place (9%). Recent popular war films include Sir Sam Mendes’ Bafta-winning epic 1917, Sir Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Taika Waititi’s Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit. Director Sam Mendes with actor George Mackay on the set of 1917 (Andrew Milligan/PA) On Monday it was announced British director Sir Steve McQueen’s new Second World War film Blitz will open the BFI London Film Festival later this year.

However, the huge success of the Netflix period romance Bridgerton has failed to ignite interest in the Georgian or Regency era, with just 3% of respondents listing it as a favourite time period. Historian and screenwriter Alex von Tunzelmann said: “Recently there has been a lot of anxiety about the portrayal of history on film and TV, with fea.