THE Bishop of Worcester has been playing something of the expert witness on Blue Peter to discover if the Gunpowder Plot could have succeeded.

Dr John Inge is taking part in an experiment to find out whether the Houses of Parliament could have been blown up as Guy Fawkes planned had he and his fellow plotters managed to ignite the explosive powder.

The key ingredient of 17th century gunpowder was saltpetre, made using tonnes of manure and soil fermented in urine.

Experts believe the best urine to use was that of a bishop and so show presenter Joel visited Worcester Cathedral in October to see if Dr Inge could help.

He said: “It’s definitely one of the more unusual requests that I’ve had since becoming bishop, but I was tempted to help since as a former scientist I have a commitment to scientific experimentation in the pursuit of truth.”

You can discover the findings by watching Blue Peter at 4.30pm on Wednesday, November 5.