Tag: BBC Family History Programmes

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Who Do You Think You Are? back on Tuesday with Joe Sugg

 

Episode 6 of Who Do You Think You Are? will be Joe Sugg’s family research and will be on Tuesday 23rd November 2021, BBC One 9 pm.

Who Do You Think You Are? S18 – Episode: Joe Sugg. Picture Shows Joe at French Protestant Church of London – (C) Wall to Wall Media Ltd – Photographer: Stephen Perry

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 communication 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.

WARNING: SPOLIER ALERT! If you don’t mind knowing what is going to be in the programme before you watch it then you can read all about it here: Joe Sugg – Who Do You Think You Are? Otherwise there are a few days to go before its on your TV. Broadcast will be on BBC One Tuesday 23 November 2021 at 9 pm.

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Murder, Mystery And My Family recommissioned for second BBC One series

This news item is written by the people at the BBC.

BBC One daytime TV hit Murder, Mystery and My Family is to return to our screens in 2019 with twenty brand new episodes.

BBC programme - Murder, Mystery and My Family

Building on the audience’s fascination with the first series, there will also be ten further follow-up episodes in Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed?

The series follows relatives of those convicted of murder and hanged for their crime, as they reinvestigate the evidence using modern forensics and team up with Barristers Jeremy Dein QC and Sasha Wass QC. The first series, produced for the BBC by Chalkboard Television, was a stand-out hit for BBC One daytime, regularly bringing in over two million viewers in a 9.15am slot and striking a chord with crime fans across the country.

Lindsay Bradbury, BBC Commissioning Editor, says: “When Chalkboard Television pitched the territory of murder crimes, they were slightly cautious because it felt so different for a daytime audience. But this type of distinctive format is exactly what we are after. The audience have really got stuck into the intrigue, suspense and emotion so brilliantly brought to life by Sasha and Jeremy.”

In the first series, half of the cases investigated were found to be unsafe by Judge David Radford. Now the team behind the show are on the hunt for new cases and relatives to re-investigate historic crimes and convictions.

The team are looking for murder and serious crime cases from 1970 and earlier, where there is a question mark over the conviction. As part of this they are looking to team up with relatives of the convicted who are keen to learn more about both their family and the safety of the original verdict.

Anyone interested in contacting the show can reach the production team on: familymystery@chalkboardtv.com

Executive Producer for Chalkboard TV, Mike Benson, says: “The response to the first series was more than we ever expected and the cases proved both fascinating and heart-breaking in equal measure. Most of the cases we featured involved capital punishment and many of the convicted went to the gallows desperately pleading their innocence. Now, decades later, the family members and barristers will be scrutinising the evidence using everything from DNA to ballistics in a bid to learn the truth.”

Bringing modern forensic techniques to historic cases is happening more frequently – with the recent arrest of the Golden State Killer in America an example of the power of modern science being applied to historic cases. However for the family members the show represents both an emotional quest to find the truth about their relatives’ guilt and learn more about their family history.

In series one, barristers Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein investigated a Dorset murder case that tragically tore a family apart in the 1930s. When Frederick Bryant died after a mysterious illness, his wife Charlotte was convicted of murdering him using arsenic, and hanged. With both parents dead, the Bryant’s five children were separated and raised in care. As the barristers re-investigated the strange circumstances surrounding Frederick’s death, William Bryant explored his parents’ past, accompanied by his own son David. Revisiting his childhood home, and the final resting places of both his parents, William learned a great deal about his family’s story, which had been hidden from him as a child. Following the transmission of the episode, William and David were contacted by long lost relatives of both Frederick and Charlotte, reuniting a family that had been fractured for over 80 years.

Anyone wishing to get in touch to appear on the new series should email familymystery@chalkboardtv.com

Production credits for series two:

  • Executive Producer – Mike Benson
  • Series Producer – Simon Cooper
  • Producer – Lorna Hartnett
  • Commissioning Editor for the BBC – Lindsay Bradbury
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Now we know the Celebrities in the next WDYTYA? TV series

This week the line up for the next UK series of Who Do You Think You Are was released!

Wall to Wall's Who Do You Think You Are? programmes on the BBC

The Press Release tells us that it includes stars from the world of music, comedy, sport, television and film.

The line up for the 15th series of the BAFTA-award winning genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? from Wall To Wall (a Warner Bros Television Production UK Ltd company) when it returns to BBC One this summer includes multi-awarding winning actor OLIVIA COLMAN, musician, DJ, fashion designer and British icon BOY GEORGE, Strictly Come Dancing’s Head Judge SHIRLEY BALLAS, comedian and Not Going Out actor LEE MACK, presenter and former JLS member MARVIN HUMES, barrister and television personality ROBERT ‘JUDGE’ RINDER, Our Girl star MICHELLE KEEGAN and gold medal winning Paralympian JONNIE PEACOCK all discover their families’ pasts in this year’s series.

Series fifteen reveals shocking discoveries, laughter and tears along the way, as our eight celebrities travel around the world to unearth the secrets of their ancestors.  Michelle Keegan uncovers some exceptional women on her family tree as she unearths a special connection to suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst. Olivia Colman’s journey is one of equal contrasts as she voyages from her family home in Norfolk to India, discovering that her ancestry is more diverse than she had originally thought. While Lee Mack’s investigation brings to light a comedy connection to his great-grandfather who performed on the frontline during WW1. From adultery to asylums, illicit drinking dens to revolutions, our celebrities travel round the world, from Gibraltar to Genoa, India, Jamaica, South Africa and Latvia, as they solve the mysteries in their family trees.

The series will air on BBC One over the summer with Michelle Keegan’s episode launching the series in June as part of the ‘Hear Her’ Season on the BBC which marks the centenary of women getting the vote.

The BBC is set to showcase women’s voices in a dedicated season of content across TV, radio and online to mark 100 years since suffrage and the centenary anniversary of women being able to vote in the UK.

Executive Producer for Wall to Wall, Colette Flight, says: “Britain’s best loved stars are once again delving into their family trees, uncovering hidden secrets and solving mysteries. The stories they unearth are revelatory, often unexpectedly humorous but always affecting.”

BBC Commissioning Editor Fatima Salaria says: “The enduring appeal of Who Do You Think You Are is set to continue as BBC One broadcasts a huge host of names in series 15 including Olivia Colman, Boy George, Marvin Humes and Judge Rinder, which are guaranteed to move and entertain audiences. We’re particularly honoured to launch the series with Michelle Keegan’s episode which uncovers her special connection to Emmeline Pankhurst, as part of the BBC’s ‘Hear Her’ season. This is must see TV at its best.”

Series 15 was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director, BBC Content and Tom McDonald, BBC Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Specialist Factual. The Commissioning Editor is Fatima Salaria.

 

 

I know that it is compulsive viewing for many of us, so I am looking forward to the series beginning!

 

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