Iain Glen transports listeners back in time in new Noiser podcast ‘Real Vikings’

The Vikings are often depicted as bearded men in horned helmets who plundered and pillaged. Fearsome pagans who came to terrorise the inhabitants of Britain, Ireland and beyond. The Hells Angels of the high seas. 

While aspects of the legend are true, the Viking Age is far richer than we’re often led to believe.

Narrated by actor Iain Glen, Real Vikings brings this seminal period of history to life, with contributions from leading experts, original music and immersive sound design that transports listeners into the Norse world.

Names from mythology like Thor, Odin and Ragnar Lothbrok may be recognisable from television and film, but the real history of the Vikings is often overlooked or misunderstood. In Britain, a raid on Lindisfarne in 793 AD is often credited as the dawn of this new era. But was that really where it all began?

Real Vikings also explores the vast reach of the Norse world. Vikings travelled far along the rivers of Eastern Europe into modern-day Ukraine and Russia; they reached Constantinople and Baghdad, settled Iceland and Greenland, and set foot in North America centuries before Columbus. They established what is widely regarded as the world's oldest surviving democratic parliament, Iceland’s Alþingi, and their legacy endures in surprisingly modern ways. In 1997, in Silicon Valley, a new wireless communication system was named after a Viking king: Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson.

Guiding listeners through these extraordinary stories is Iain Glen. Best known globally for his roles in Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and Silo, Glen’s distinguished career spans stage and screen, including acclaimed performances as both Hamlet and Macbeth.
Real Vikings reveals the real figures behind the legends. Not just warriors, but explorers, poets and pioneers. Men and women who shaped the medieval world and whose impact still echoes today.

Step aboard the longships and journey into the Viking Age with us.

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The ten-part series launches on 10th March 2026.