Who Do You Think You Are?

2019-07-22 · Sixteenth series of the BAFTA-winning series

S16 E01 · 2019-07-22 · 60 min

Daniel Radcliffe

'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe discovers that the Hatton Garden robbery of his great-grandfather’s jewellery business was far more dark and dramatic than he ever imagined, while an unseen cache of his great-great-uncle’s letters reveals a heart-wrenching First World War love story.

S16 E02 · 2019-07-29 · 60 min

Naomie Harris

Actor Naomie Harris’s dramatic discoveries in this episode inspire her to anger, sadness and tears of joy. On a journey from Trinidad to Grenada to Jamaica, Naomie exposes her four-times-great grandfather’s involvement in the exploitation of so-called 'liberated Africans' shortly after the abolition of slavery, is delighted to discover the identify of her African five-times-great grandmother, and, in nearer generations, uncovers a family story of tragic poverty in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston.

S16 E03 · 2019-08-05 · 60 min

Jack and Michael Whitehall

In a first for the series, father-and-son comedy double-act Jack and Michael Whitehall join forces to investigate their family tree.

S16 E04 · 2019-08-12 · 60 min

Kate Winslet

Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet follows a rumour of Scandinavian ancestry on her mother's side of the family and is delighted to find that she has Swedish heritage.

S16 E05 · 2019-08-19 · 60 min

Katherine Ryan

Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan’s investigation of her family history leads her to a Methodist minister and his family in colonial Nova Scotia, cod traders in Newfoundland, and eventually to her English roots in Dorset.

S16 E06 · 2019-08-28 · 60 min

Paul Merton

Paul Merton traces the life of his maternal grandfather and discovers that he was involved in some of the key events that led to Irish independence in the 1920s.

S16 E07 · 2019-09-04 · 60 min

Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne uncovers the difficult circumstances of her mother’s and grandmother’s lives, and is stunned to learn that her great-grandmother was born in the US.

S16 E08 · 2019-09-11 · 60 min

Mark Wright

Former TOWIE star Mark Wright discovers that his ancestors included an Andalucian master swordsman and a Spaniard who was burned at the stake during the Inquisition.

2020-10-12

S17 E01 · 2020-10-12 · 60 min

Jodie Whittaker

Doctor Who actor Jodie Whittaker finds out how her great-great-grandfather worked his way up from child labourer in a Yorkshire coal mine to mine owner.

S17 E02 · 2020-10-19 · 60 min

David Walliams

David Walliams learns of his great-grandfather’s traumatic experiences during the First World War, which condemned him to a lifetime in what was then called a lunatic asylum.

S17 E03 · 2020-10-26 · 60 min

Ruth Jones

Actor Ruth Jones - Nessa from Gavin and Stacey - uncovers her grandfather's role in the Medical Aid Societies of south Wales, which provided a model for the NHS.

S17 E04 · 2020-11-02 · 60 min

Liz Carr

Silent Witness actor Liz Carr gets forensic about her family history, discovering that her great-great-great-grandfather was involved in an attempted murder in rural Northern Ireland in the 1850s.

2021-10-12

S18 E01 · 2021-10-12 · 60 min

Josh Widdicombe

Comedian Josh Widdicombe embarks on a rollercoaster ride through his extraordinary family history. After a less than promising start with an ancestor who was cut out of the family fortune, Josh is delighted to discover a courtier with very personal access to King Charles I. From there it’s a dizzying journey back to Elizabethan and Tudor nobility by way of a royal love triangle, through an incredible ancestral line that prompts Josh to ask the expert he meets, 'Be honest. As a historian, are you really jealous?' English

S18 E02 · 2021-10-19 · 60 min

Dame Judi Dench

Shakespearean actor, movie star and national treasure Dame Judi Dench's journey begins with her father Reginald Dench, who never spoke of his experiences during the First World War, as she tries to find out how he won his gallantry medals. Judi’s investigations then take a truly epic turn, leading her to 16th-century Denmark and nobility. Judi also discovers, to her delight, some incredible Shakespearean links.

S18 E03 · 2021-10-26 · 60 min

Alex Scott

Presenter and former footballer Alex Scott learns about her Jewish ancestry and travels to Jamaica for the first time in her life to find out about her great-great-grandmother.

S18 E04 · 2021-11-02 · 60 min

Joe Lycett

Comedian and presenter Joe Lycett manages to find humour everywhere, but apart from his Edwardian great grandad – a member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes in Nottingham – Joe uncovers a darker family history. Joe finds out that his two-times-great grandfather Robert Wilkinson was a boy chimney sweep in the 1850s. Joining the Royal Marines, Robert travelled the world; but his involvement in razing villages in China following the Opium Wars leads to alcoholism and a breakdown.

S18 E05 · 2021-11-09 · 60 min

Pixie Lott

Singer-songwriter and talent show judge Pixie Lott hopes to confirm a family story that she has Italian ancestry from Verona, but instead discovers ancestors battling poverty and hardship in London. On her dad’s side, Pixie learns of her great-grandfather’s harrowing and surprising experience in the First World War. And, wondering if she has any musical genes, Pixie is delighted to discover three generations of military musicians, whose legacy gives her an opportunity to sing with the band of the Household Cavalry.

S18 E06 · 2021-11-23 · 60 min

Joe Sugg

YouTuber and actor Joe Sugg uncovers some incredible stories in his family tree, with a little help along the way from fellow social media star and big sister, Zoe. Joe, very aptly, discovers a great-great-great-grandfather who was involved in the earliest days of communications technology – in electrical telegraphs. Pushing further back, he finds seven-times-great-grandparents who fled religious persecution in France, and a goldsmith who survived the Great Fire of London.

S18 E07 · 2021-11-30 · 60 min

Ed Balls

Ed Balls, former Labour politician, sequinned Strictly dancer and TV presenter, grew up in a family that wanted to make the world a better place. His mother Carolyn’s dementia means she can’t share their family history with him, so he sets out to discover what kind of characters his ancestors were. Rumours on his paternal side about a link to Nelson’s ship HMS Victory lead Ed to Portsmouth and the story of his great-great-great-grandfather William Dunbar, an assistant surgeon. But as he unravels Dunbar’s medical career, he unearths a dark history of abuse and horror at a Kent workhouse. On his mother Carolyn’s side, he feels a deep connection with Christopher Green, an agricultural labourer put on trial at Norwich Castle after he stood up to defend his livelihood and community.

2022-05-26

S19 E01 · 2022-05-26 · 58 min

Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins delves into the German branch of her family, uncovering a harrowing tale of refugees fleeing back and forth across east European borders during the Second World War.

S19 E02 · 2022-06-09 · 58 min

Richard Osman

Richard Osman delves into his Brighton roots and is astonished to learn that one of his ancestors turned amateur sleuth and ended up entangled in one of Brighton’s most notorious murder trials.

S19 E03 · 2022-06-16 · 58 min

Matt Lucas

Matt Lucas learns what his late grandmother went through as a Jew in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and what happened to the family she left behind. He also uncovers a connection to Anne Frank.

S19 E04 · 2022-06-23 · 58 min

Anna Maxwell Martin

Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin travels to the small town in Northern Ireland where her father grew up, discovering the dark story of her grandfather's childhood.

S19 E05 · 2022-06-30 · 57 min

Ralf Little

Ralf Little heads to Orkney to investigate his grandfather Arthur’s role in one of the most important battles of the Second World War. He also finds an international footballer in the family.

2023-06-01

S20 E01 · 2023-06-01 · 58 min

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber is astonished to uncover stories from his family’s history that uncannily parallel his own life, including an ancestor with a famous cello-playing brother!

S20 E02 · 2023-06-08 · 58 min

Claire Foy

As actress Claire Foy delves into her family tree, the personal testimony she uncovers reveals stories of tragedy and an accusation of murder that bring communities together.

S20 E03 · 2023-06-15 · 58 min

Bear Grylls

Adventurer Bear Grylls discovers the stories behind the top secret documents hidden in his grandfather’s wartime trunk and is delighted by a Scottish royal connection.

S20 E04 · 2023-06-22 · 57 min

Kevin Clifton

Kevin Clifton investigates the rumour of an ancestor from Canada’s First Nations, taking him on an extraordinary journey to the country’s remote 18th-century trading posts.

S20 E05 · 2023-06-29 · 58 min

Chris and Xand van Tulleken

Chris and Xand van Tulleken discover more about their Dutch heritage. Their research uncovers stories of ambition and true love but also a connection to a shameful part of history.

S20 E06 · 2023-07-06 · 58 min

Emily Atack

Comedian and actor Emily Atack knows she is from a long line of larger-than-life entertainers. Her mum is singer, actor and comedian Kate Robbins and Paul McCartney is Emily’s grandmother’s cousin, making him Emily’s first cousin twice removed. Recalling fun days out with the McCartney family when she was little and how Grandad Mike turned every opportunity into a comedy show, Emily sets out to find out more about her showbiz genes.

S20 E07 · 2023-07-13 · 58 min

Dev Griffin

Dev Griffin learns about his ancestry, including momentous stories from Ireland and some very personal details from his great-grandparents' lives in Jamaica.

S20 E08 · 2023-07-20 · 57 min

Chris Ramsey

Chris Ramsey has always felt lucky, so he’s delighted to learn it runs in the family as he uncovers the stories of ancestors who survived a deadly WWI battle and won a lottery.

S20 E09 · 2023-07-27 · 57 min

Lesley Manville

Lesley Manville is moved to discover a family story of enduring love and is delighted when an ancestor’s involvement in a riot reveals new relatives in Australia.

2024-08-15 · Stars delve into their family history to find moving, funny and extraordinary stories.

S21 E01 · 2024-08-15 · 57 min

Vicky McClure

Vicky McClure goes on an emotional journey to Taiwan to find out what happened when her great-grandfather was captured as a prisoner of war in World War Two.

S21 E02 · 2024-08-22 · 58 min

Paddy McGuinness

Paddy McGuinness uncovers his grandfather’s vital work in World War Two, how his other grandfather was involved in the Boer War and the family’s journey from Ireland to Bolton.

S21 E03 · 2024-08-29 · 57 min

Melanie Chisholm

Melanie Chisholm is fascinated to discover that her ancestors include a moneylender, a campaigner for social reform and a family fleeing the famine in Ireland.

S21 E04 · 2024-09-05 · 57 min

Rose Ayling-Ellis

Actor, presenter and deaf rights campaigner Rose Ayling-Ellis goes in search of her family history. She encounters a pub landlady and hunts for a rumoured Italian connection.

S21 E05 · 2024-09-12 · 57 min

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill

Jessica Ennis-Hill discovers the truth behind a family mystery and finds out about her Jamaican four-time great-grandfather’s journey from enslavement to land ownership.

S21 E06 · 2024-09-19 · 58 min

Olly Murs

Olly Murs explores his grandfather’s Latvian roots, discovers his great-grandparents were circus performers, and how a wartime decision led to a tragic family estrangement.

S21 E07 · 2024-09-26 · 57 min

Gemma Collins

Gemma Collins goes on an emotional journey discovering why her mother was fostered; connecting with a long-lost cousin; and finding out her Essex roots go back over 200 years.

2025-04-22

S22 E01 · 2025-04-22 · 57 min

Andrew Garfield

Worthy of a film plot line, Andrew Garfield’s family history takes him from Nazi-occupied Poland to early Hollywood glamour as he uncovers stories which veer from tragedy to hope.

S22 E02 · 2025-04-29 · 58 min

Mishal Husain

In an unexpected twist, Mishal Husain’s journey into her family tree takes her from India to the east coast of the USA, where she discovers some revolutionary ancestors.

S22 E03 · 2025-05-06 · 58 min

Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp's ancestral detective hunt leads to a marine drummer boy from the Napoleonic era and his great-grandfather’s experiences in the merchant navy during two world wars.

S22 E04 · 2025-05-12 · 58 min

Layton Williams

Actor Layton Williams finds generations of Londoners in his family and is delighted to find they walked the same streets as him. In Jamaica, he makes some distressing discoveries.

S22 E05 · 2025-05-20 · 58 min

Aisling Bea

Comedian Aisling Bea finds moments of genuine connection in her family tree, with stories of female resilience and a relative who fought for Irish independence and culture.

S22 E06 · 2025-05-27 · 57 min

Fred Sirieix

From the French battlefields of the First World War to a romance worthy of First Dates, maître d’ and presenter Fred Sirieix goes to France to explore his family tree.

S22 E07 · 2025-06-03 · 58 min

Will Young

Will Young learns about his grandfather’s time as a prisoner of war in World War II. Delving further back, Will finds a connection to one of medieval history’s biggest villains, and a king.

S22 E08 · 2025-06-10 · 58 min

Diane Morgan

Setting aside her clueless historian persona Philomena Cunk, Diane Morgan is unsettled and amused by having to genuinely go in search of the truth to reveal her family history.

2026-05-26