In the documentary Blackadder Rides Again (2008), Richard Curtis and Tony Robinson both mention the relics scene as a particular highlight. Curtis was generally critical of the first series, stating that while comedy writers hone their craft first by writing sketches and then progress to writing situation comedy, the most successful parts of Blackadder (1982) were in essence just sketches. He points to Baldrick's scene with the holy relics as an example of one of those sequences - entertaining, but ultimately self-contained. Robinson felt that, because he, Rowan Atkinson and Tim McInnerny had just begun to work together, this scene was the first time that the three of them truly "gelled" as an ensemble of performers.
William Russell, best remembered as Doctor Who (1963) companion Ian Chesterton, was a last minute replacement for actor Wilfrid Brambell in the role of the Duke of Winchester. Brambell walked off set after becoming impatient with delays in shooting the scene. Russell was credited as Russell Enoch.
In this episode, Rowan Atkinson's character becomes Archbishop of Canterbury. In Johnny English (2003), his character publicly humiliates the Archbishop.