- Title: Secret History: The Strangest Viking
- Date: 12th June 2003
- Summary: In 865AD a great Viking army invaded Britain. The violence that followed engulfed half the country and altered the course of British history. At the head of the army was a mysterious,fearsome warlord called Ivarr,known to history by his nickname,'Ivarr the Boneless'. Little is known about Ivarr from historical sources but in the Danish Sagas,larger than life tales written down centuries later,he emerges from the shadows of the Dark Ages in full colour: a great military strategist; a ruthless invader driven by revenge. But an intriguing detail about Ivarr has sparked a remarkable historical quest. The Sagas describe Ivarr's traumatic birth and claim that he had 'only the like of gristle where bones should have been'. They also say he needed staves on which to be carried into battle. Could Ivarr's nickname 'boneless' hint at something exceptional? Nabil Shaban,a writer and performer who suffers from a condition called Brittle Bones Disease,believes that Ivarr may have suffered the same disability. This programme recounts the story of the most brutal invasion Britain has ever suffered and follows Nabil's quest to explore the possibility that Ivarr,the leader of the invasion,was physically disabled.
- Description:Ivarr the Boneless was the legendary Viking leader who headed the great heathen army which invaded Britain in 865.Disabled actor and performer Nabil Shaban is obsessed with the idea that Ivarr the Boneless is so- called because he suffered from brittle bones disease - the same disability that has Nabil confined to a wheelchair. Nabil leads this quest to unearth the truth about Ivarr and build up a historically accurate profile of the man and his acheivements.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Documentary and Factual
- Producer:3Bm Television Ltd.
- Programme Episode:Episode 1
- Transmission Date:12/06/2003
- Rights:UK and Eire
- Decade: 2000s