I was horrified when i saw this....
Britons are losing a grip on fact and fiction - with nearly one in four believing Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale are myths and more than half thinking Sherlock Holmes actually existed.
In a new survey, 47% of people thought that Richard the Lionheart, the 12th-century English king, was a myth.
They were also under the impression that Charles Dickens, one of the most famous writers in English literature, was a fictional character himself.
Indian political leader Gandhi; Cleopatra, ruler of ancient Egypt; adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh; British military leader Bernard Montgomery; and Boudica, famous for leading a major uprising against occupying Roman forces, were all thought to be characters dreamt up for films and books.
Britons thought fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes and pilot Biggles were real, according to the survey of 3,000 people commissioned to celebrate UKTV Gold's forthcoming Robin Hood season.
Over half of those questioned (58%) believe that the detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his novels of the late 1880s actually lived in Baker Street, with sidekick Watson.
Historical figures and the percentage of Britons who believe they are myths:1. Richard the Lionheart (47%)2. Winston Churchill (23%)3. Florence Nightingale (23%)4. Bernard Montgomery (6%)5. Boudica (5%)6. Sir Walter Raleigh (4%)7. Duke of Wellington (4%)8. Cleopatra (4%)9. Gandhi (3%)10. Charles Dickens (3%)
Fictional figures and the percentage of Britons who believe they are real:Sherlock Holmes (58%)Biggles (33%)
People have heard of Biggles?????