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Who Do You Think You Are?

 

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Who Do You Think You Are?



 
 
Who Do You Think You Are? is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 genealogy
Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigree of its members....
 documentary
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
 series
Television program

A television program , television programme , or television show is something that people watch on television. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically recurring television series....
 that has aired on the BBC since 2004. Made by Wall to Wall
Wall to Wall

Wall to Wall, part of the Shed Media, is an independent television production company that produces event specials and drama, factual entertainment, science and history programmes for broadcast by networks in both the UK and US....
, in each episode, a celebrity goes on a journey to trace his or her family tree
Family tree

A family tree is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms....
. Five series have been broadcast, with a sixth series currently broadcasting every Monday on BBC One
BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
.

es One and Two were broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two

BBC Two is the second major terrestrial television channel of the BBC, aimed at a wide range of subject matter and interests, and specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres....
, and the first was the channel's highest-rating programme of 2004.






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Encyclopedia


Who Do You Think You Are? is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 genealogy
Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigree of its members....
 documentary
Documentary film

Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and new media productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a televis...
 series
Television program

A television program , television programme , or television show is something that people watch on television. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically recurring television series....
 that has aired on the BBC since 2004. Made by Wall to Wall
Wall to Wall

Wall to Wall, part of the Shed Media, is an independent television production company that produces event specials and drama, factual entertainment, science and history programmes for broadcast by networks in both the UK and US....
, in each episode, a celebrity goes on a journey to trace his or her family tree
Family tree

A family tree is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms....
. Five series have been broadcast, with a sixth series currently broadcasting every Monday on BBC One
BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
.

Episodes

Series One and Two were broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two

BBC Two is the second major terrestrial television channel of the BBC, aimed at a wide range of subject matter and interests, and specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres....
, and the first was the channel's highest-rating programme of 2004. This led to episodes being shown on BBC One
BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
 from the third series onwards. The narrator is Mark Strong
Mark Strong

Mark Strong is an England actor....
, who took over from David Morrissey
David Morrissey

David Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington, Liverpool and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool. He learned to act at the Everyman Theatre, alongside Ian Hart and Mark McGann and Stephen McGann....
 after the first series, which was nominated for "Best Factual Series or Strand" in the 2005 BAFTAs
British Academy Television Awards 2005

The 2005 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday April 17 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. The ceremony was hosted by Ireland comedian and television presenter Graham Norton....
.

In the first series, the last ten minutes of each episode featured presenter Adrian Chiles
Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles is a England television and radio presenter.His journalistic training and love of football have resulted in a career in two streams of broadcasting, fronting general and notably business programmes such as Working Lunch; and sports programmes like Match of the Day 2....
 and genealogical researcher Nick Barratt
Nick Barratt

Nick Barratt is an English genealogist. He is best known as genealogical consultant for series 1 to 4 of the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?....
 giving tips on tracing a family tree. In 2007, a special episode was broadcast in conjunction with the BBC's "Family Wanted" campaign featuring Nicky Campbell
Nicky Campbell

Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell is a Scotland radio and television presenter and journalist. He is known for his strong views and assertive style of presenting on programmes such as the consumer affairs programme Watchdog ....
, who was adopted a few days after he was born.

The theme tune was composed by Mark Sayer-Wade, who also provides the background music for each episode.

Series One (2004)

  1. Bill Oddie
    Bill Oddie

    William Edgar Oddie, Order of the British Empire is an England author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who first became famous as one of The Goodies....
     (12 October 2004)
  2. Amanda Redman
    Amanda Redman

    Amanda Redman is an English actor, perhaps best known for her role as Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, in New Tricks....
     (19 October 2004)
  3. Sue Johnston
    Sue Johnston

    Susan Johnston, usually known as Sue Johnston, is an England actor probably best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, once in 2006 and again in 2008....
     (26 October 2004)
  4. Jeremy Clarkson
    Jeremy Clarkson

    Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English people Presenter and journalist who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC Television show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May....
     (2 November 2004)
  5. Ian Hislop
    Ian Hislop

    Ian David Hislop is a United Kingdom satirist, writer, broadcaster and editor of the magazine Private Eye . He has also appeared on many radio and television programmes, most notably as a team captain on the BBC current affairs quiz Have I Got News for You....
     (9 November 2004)
  6. Moira Stuart
    Moira Stuart

    Moira Clare Ruby Stuart Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom journalist who was the first British African-Caribbean community female News presenter on British television....
     (16 November 2004)
  7. David Baddiel
    David Baddiel

    David Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter....
     (23 November 2004)
  8. Lesley Garrett
    Lesley Garrett

    Lesley Garrett Order of the British Empire is an England soprano, broadcaster and media personality....
     (30 November 2004)
  9. Meera Syal
    Meera Syal

    Meera Syal Order of the British Empire is a British comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actor, rising to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and becoming one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities....
     (7 December 2004)
  10. Vic Reeves
    Vic Reeves

    Vic Reeves is an England comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surrealism and non sequitur sense of humour....
     (14 December 2004)


Series Two (2006)

  1. Jeremy Paxman
    Jeremy Paxman

    Jeremy Dixon Paxman is an England journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. Best known for his abrasive and forthright style of interviewing on the BBC's Newsnight programme, he has been praised as tough and incisive and criticised as aggressive, condescending and irreverent....
     (11 January 2006)
  2. Sheila Hancock
    Sheila Hancock

    Sheila Hancock Order of the British Empire is an England actress, known primarily for her comedy performances....
     (18 January 2006)
  3. Stephen Fry
    Stephen Fry

    Stephen John Fry is an England actor, comedian, author and television presenter. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster....
     (25 January 2006)
  4. Julian Clary
    Julian Clary

    Julian Clary is an England comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre....
     (1 February 2006)
  5. Jane Horrocks
    Jane Horrocks

    Jane Horrocks is an England actor, musician, and singer....
     (8 February 2006)
  6. Gurinder Chadha
    Gurinder Chadha

    Gurinder Chadha, Order of the British Empire, is a United Kingdom film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in the UK....
     (15 February 2006)


Series Three (2006)

  1. Barbara Windsor
    Barbara Windsor

    Barbara Ann Windsor, Order of the British Empire is an English people actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; she is now considered by many to be something of a British national institution....
     (6 September 2006)
  2. Robert Lindsay
    Robert Lindsay (actor)

    Robert Lindsay is an award-winning English people actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles in Citizen Smith, My Family, and Hornblower ....
     (13 September 2006)
  3. Colin Jackson
    Colin Jackson

    Colin Ray Jackson Order of the British Empire is a Welsh people former Sprint and hurdling Athletics of Jamaican, Jamaican Maroons, Taino, and Scottish people ancestry, who now works as a Sportscaster for athletics and television presenter predominantly for the BBC....
     (20 September 2006)
  4. David Tennant
    David Tennant

    David Tennant is a Scotland actor. Already a well-known theatre actor, Tennant achieved wider fame for his TV role as the Tenth Doctor in BBC's Doctor Who as well as in Casanova , and his film role as Death Eater#Barty Crouch, Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ....
     (27 September 2006)
  5. David Dickinson
    David Dickinson

    David Dickinson is an England antiques expert and television presenter of Armenians ancestry....
     (4 October 2006)
  6. Nigella Lawson
    Nigella Lawson

    Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English Food writing, journalist and broadcaster. Lawson was born to Nigel Lawson , a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa Salmon, whose family owned the J....
     (11 October 2006)
  7. Jeremy Irons
    Jeremy Irons

    Jeremy John Irons is an England film, television and stage actor. He has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards....
      (18 October 2006)
  8. Julia Sawalha
    Julia Sawalha

    Julia Sawalha is an English actor best known for her roles of Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang, and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice ....
     (25 October 2006)


Adoption Special (2007)

  1. Nicky Campbell
    Nicky Campbell

    Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell is a Scotland radio and television presenter and journalist. He is known for his strong views and assertive style of presenting on programmes such as the consumer affairs programme Watchdog ....
     (11 July 2007)


Series Four (2007)

  1. Natasha Kaplinsky
    Natasha Kaplinsky

    Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky is an England News presenter, currently employed by Channel Five....
     (6 September 2007)
  2. John Hurt
    John Hurt

    'John Vincent Hurt', Order of the British Empire is an England actor. Hurt initially came to prominence for his role as Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich in the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons , and has since retained a career as a leading actor and supporting actor of many popular motion pictures, including: Watership Down , Midnight Exp...
     (13 September 2007)
  3. Griff Rhys Jones
    Griff Rhys Jones

    Griffith Rhys Jones , better known as Griff Rhys Jones, is a Wales comedian, writer and actor. He came to national attention in the 1980s when he starred with Mel Smith in a number of Sketch comedy programmes on British TV....
     (20 September 2007)
  4. Carol Vorderman
    Carol Vorderman

    Carol Jean Vorderman Order of the British Empire is an English businesswoman and television presenter, best known for co-hosting the popular Channel 4 game show Countdown from its first show on 2 November 1982 until 12 December 2008....
     (27 September 2007)
  5. Alistair McGowan
    Alistair McGowan

    Alistair McGowan is an England Impressionist , comedian and actor. McGowan is best known for his work with Ronni Ancona on The Big Impression , which spawned his culturally popular impressions of David Beckham, Sven-G?ran Eriksson, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, Richard Madeley, Tony Blair, Ross Geller and Dot Cotton ....
     (4 October 2007)
  6. Graham Norton
    Graham Norton

    Graham William Walker is an Irish people actor, comedian and television presenter. He is known by his stage name Graham Norton....
     (11 October 2007)
  7. Sir Matthew Pinsent
    Matthew Pinsent

    Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent Order of the British Empire is an English Sport rowing champion, four-time Olympic Games gold medallist and broadcaster....
     (18 October 2007)


Series Five (2008)

  1. Patsy Kensit
    Patsy Kensit

    Patricia Jude Francis Kensit is an English actress and former singer, well-known for her three celebrity marriages and appearances on British television....
     (13 August 2008)
  2. Boris Johnson
    Boris Johnson

    Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is an England politician and journalist. The current Mayor of London, he previously served as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament#United Kingdom for Henley and as editor of The Spectator magazine....
     (20 August 2008)
  3. Jerry Springer
    Jerry Springer

    Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is an American television personality, a former Democratic Party mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, musician and host of the tabloid talk show bearing his name, The Jerry Springer Show, since its debut in 1991....
     (27 August 2008)
  4. Esther Rantzen
    Esther Rantzen

    Esther Louise Rantzen Order of the British Empire is an England journalist and television presenter who is best known for her long stint in That's Life! and her child protection activities as founder of the charity ChildLine....
     (3 September 2008)
  5. Ainsley Harriott
    Ainsley Harriott

    Ainsley Harriott is an England celebrity chef and television presenter...
     (10 September 2008)
  6. David Suchet
    David Suchet

    David Suchet , Order of the British Empire is an England actor, known for his work on United Kingdom television. He is recognised for his Royal Television Society- and Broadcasting Press Guild Awards award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 United Kingdom TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now , alongside Matthew Macfadyen a...
     (17 September 2008)
  7. Jodie Kidd
    Jodie Kidd

    Jodie Kidd is a television personality and former Model ....
     (24 September 2008)
  8. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
    Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

    Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is a Wales interior designer and television and radio personality best known for his appearances on the British Broadcasting Corporation television programme Changing Rooms ....
     (29 September 2008)


Series Six (2009)

  1. Rory Bremner
    Rory Bremner

    Roderick Keith Ogilvy Bremner King's College London#Fellows is a Scotland Impressionist , playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire....
     (2 February 2009)
  2. Fiona Bruce
    Fiona Bruce

    Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a Scottish people journalist, Newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow and Andrew Marr Sunday Show....
     (9 February 2009)
  3. Rick Stein
    Rick Stein

    Christopher Richard Stein Order of the British Empire is an England chef, restaurateur and television presenter....
     (16 February 2009)
  4. Zoë Wanamaker
    Zoe Wanamaker

    Zo? Wanamaker Order of the British Empire is an award-winning England-United States actor best known for her role as Susan Harper in the United Kingdom television series My Family....
     (23 February 2009)
  5. Kevin Whately
    Kevin Whately

    Kevin Whately is an England actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the United Kingdom television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Inspector Lewis in the Police procedural Inspector Morse and Lewis ....
     (2 March 2009)


Series Seven (2009)

The next series, also of five editions, will air later in the year. Subjects for this will include Konnie Huq
Konnie Huq

Kanak "Konnie" Huq is a British Asian Presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008....
, Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles

Christopher Moyles is an England Presenter from Leeds. He currently hosts the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show, entitled The Chris Moyles Show....
 and David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer

David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of Television director and Film director. Born in New York, he moved to Los Angeles at the age of two....
.

Media releases

The first three series of Who Do You Think You Are? are available on DVD in the UK (Region 2).

In October 2007, BBC Magazines
BBC Magazines

BBC Magazines is the magazine publisher division of BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC.A list of the published magazines and the age groups they are targeted towards follows:...
 began issuing Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, a monthly publication that includes material from the TV series.

Other countries

In September 2007, a Canadian version
Who Do You Think You Are? (Canadian TV series)

Who Do You Think You Are? is a Canada television documentary series, which aired on CBC Television during the 2007-08 television season on Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m....
 comprising 13 episodes began airing on CBC. An Australian version
Who Do You Think You Are? (Australian TV series)

Who Do You Think You Are? is an Australian television documentary film based on the BBC series of the Who Do You Think You Are?, airing on SBS TV....
 aired on SBS
Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is one of two government-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and List of Australian television channels, the other being the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ....
 in January 2008, after six episodes of the BBC version had been shown; the BBC programmes were those featuring Stephen Fry, Bill Oddie, Julia Sawalha, Jeremy Clarkson, Gurinder Chadha and Nigella Lawson. The NBC has also ordered an American adaptation of the show to be produced. Ireland's national broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann
Radio Telefís Éireann

Radio Telef?s ?ireann is the Public broadcasting of Republic of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts on television, radio and the Internet....
, is including an Irish version
Who Do You Think You Are? (Irish TV series)

Who Do You Think You Are? is a six-part Republic of Ireland genealogy Documentary film Television program that first aired on RT? One in 2008....
 of Who Do You Think You Are? in their new 2008/2009 season. The British version of the show already airs on TG4
TG4

TG4 is a television channel in Ireland, aimed at Irish language speakers and established as a wholly owned subsidiary by Radio Telef?s ?ireann on October 31, 1996....
 in Ireland.

Similar programmes

BBC Wales
BBC Wales

BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages....
 has a similar series called Coming Home, which is made by Yellow Duck Productions and features celebrities with a Welsh background. In 2007, Wall to Wall
Wall to Wall

Wall to Wall, part of the Shed Media, is an independent television production company that produces event specials and drama, factual entertainment, science and history programmes for broadcast by networks in both the UK and US....
 developed You Don't Know You're Born
You Don't Know You're Born

You Don't Know You're Born is a United Kingdom television Documentary film that aired on ITV1 in 2007. It features celebrities looking into their family tree....
 for ITV1. The series saw various celebrities taking on their ancestor's jobs.

External links