Actually two virtually identical characters, the first Flash appeared in Blackadder II in 1986, while the second, his descendant, appeared in the final series, Blackadder Goes Forth, three years later.A swaggering braggart with a (bug) eye for the ladies, the Elizabethan Flashheart was a swashbuckler of the old school, while his second incarnation harked back to the iconic World War I flying aces of the era.The Blackadder phenomenon gave us some of British televisions greatest comedy. Its remarkable that despite all-star casts of the funniest, most outrageous comic actors of the time, Mayalls guest appearances somehow always stole the show from them all. For the first time, Mayall was playing sexy, choosing not to hide his good looks behind pantomime gurning and the greasy slouch that characterised his namesake personas. It was a new approach that would pay dividends with the next character on our list