‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Returns With Jodie Whittaker, David Walliams, Liz Carr & Ruth Jones In October To BBC One
The BBC has revealed the latest line-up of celebrities who will be diving into their family history as genealogy show ‘Who Do You Think You Are?‘ returns for its 17th Season on BBC One this October.
This year’s crop of guests includes Jodie Whittaker, who faces some fraught family history; David Walliams, who uncovers a relative’s traumatic experience during WWI and learns that entertaining runs in the family; Liz Carr, who investigates an ancestor’s role in an attempted murder; and Ruth Jones, who unearths a family connection to the origins of the National Health Service.
‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Broadchurch’ star Jodie Whittaker learns the poignant reality behind a family myth surrounding her great uncle’s sacrifice in WWI while unearthing some uncomfortable truths about her great-great-grandfather in Yorkshire.
“Who Do You Think You Are? took me on an incredible journey through some of my family history,” comments Whittaker. “I discovered people and events that I had no idea existed before this. I was lucky to go home and see my Mum and Dad, lucky to see places I’d never been to before, and lucky to meet and shake hands with some wonderful and intelligent people whose insight into history blew my mind. And only in February did I embark on this journey, and knowing where we are now, it feels even more special to have had this adventure.”
From his hometown in Surrey to the First World War Battlefields in Belgium, actor, comedian and television personality David Walliams delights in discovering a great-great-grandfather who, after becoming blind, forged a career as a travelling entertainer. Walliams also uncovers a more tragic story surrounding his paternal great grandfather’s experiences following WWI.
“I’m delighted to have taken part in the series,” adds Walliams. “I started off the journey knowing very little about my ancestry. In making the programme I found out lots of family history I would never would have learned of. I was pleased to discover that being an entertainer runs in the family.”
More Great War history is uncovered by ‘Silent Witness’ actor and activist Liz Carr, who learns of her paternal grandfather’s experiences in the Royal Navy’s Northern Patrol. Carr also travels to County Armagh, Northern Ireland and gets forensic, exposing an ancestor’s role in an attempted murder.
“I’ve watched Who Do You Think You Are? over the years so to be selected to have the show research my family history has been a wonderfully surreal experience,” commented Carr. “An armchair genealogist, my mum has dragged us around graveyards in search of our ancestors but to no avail so I’m hoping this will now all stop (probably not – knowing my mum!)”
‘Gavin And Stacey’ star and co-creator Ruth Jones learns that her paternal grandfather was a key player in the Medical Aid Societies of South Wales, which provided a model for the National Health Service. She also discovers a lineage of world-travelling mariners on her mother’s side.
“Filming Who Do You Think You Are? was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” said Jones. “I feel so privileged to have been taken on this spectacular journey into my heritage and to have discovered so much about my ancestors. I’ve probably been guilty of assuming people from bygone generations were stuffy, two-dimensional and a bit dull. But my trip on Who Do You Think You Are? has proved the opposite to be true. I feel like I’ve got to know the real people behind the fading sepia photographs and it’s made me want to find out more. Ancestry is where it’s at!”
‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ promises to deliver laughter, tears, tragedies and shocks, as the celebrities uncover and share emotional stories and surprising revelations about family members both beloved and unknown.
“We’re so excited about the return of Who Do You Think You Are? one of our most-watched history series,” commented Abigail Priddle, BBC Commissioning Editor for Specialist Factual. “Viewers have much to be excited about too, with an amazing line-up of celebrities set to delve in their ancestries and uncover lost connections and unfamiliar histories.”
‘Who Do You Think You Are?‘ Season 17 premieres Wednesday, 12th October 2020 at 9pm on BBC One.
