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Who Do You Think You Are?


BBC1, Monday 19 July 9:00pm - 10:00pm


1/9 - Bruce Forsyth

The key to Bruce Forsyth's Who Do You Think You Are? lies in a letter from America about his great-grandfather, Joseph Forsyth Johnson. It proves to be the catalyst for a journey that starts in such a low-key way that you might find yourself looking at your watch. But stick with it. What emerges is a neat, poignant little pen-portrait of social ambition, lies, deception, feckless romance... and botanic gardens. The letter from a total stranger drops a tiny bombshell into the heart of Forsyth's family history with the claim that Joseph Forsyth Johnson was a bigamist with one wife in the US and another over here. A chipper Bruce Forsyth picks up the trail of his great-grandfather - a gifted and visionary landscape gardener - in London where he once had a shop in Mayfair and follows it to New York and, latterly Atlanta, Georgia, where he meets a new branch of the family, a group of charming and excitable ladies.


VIDEO Plus+: 4797

Subtitled, Widescreen, High definition, Audio-described
Simulcast on BBC HD

Directed by: Leo Burley
Radiotimes

2/9 - Rupert Everett

BBC1, Monday 26 July 9:00pm - 10:00pm



"English... actor... toff... poof" is Rupert Everett's jaunty introduction to his enthralling Who Do You Think You Are? He makes no bones about his immediate ancestry: "I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and went on to develop a whole canteen of cutlery." Everett, after a visit to his delightful mum in the Wiltshire family home, sets off to blow dust from the family legend surrounding his paternal grandfather who is said to have grown up in the care of two aunts in Hammersmith, west London. But as he pores over documents and peeks at aged photos it becomes clear that the real life of not just his grandfather, but particularly also his great-grandfather, have become obscured by the swirling clouds of family myths and obfuscation. It's a terrific story that even unearths a splendid great-auntie who, in a priceless exchange, holds Everett's hand as she tells him how much she likes "naughty boys". When it turns out he likes naughty boys too, she wonders aloud, "You're not playing for the other side, are you?"



VIDEO Plus+: 2249

Subtitled, Widescreen, Audio-described
Showing on BBC HD on Thursday at 9pm

Directed by: Michael Waldman
Radiotimes

JK Rowling to appear on Who Do You Think You Are?

JK Rowling will explore her French roots in the new series of BBC ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are?

The author will visit Edinburgh and London followed by French battlefields and the back streets of Paris.

EastEnder June Brown, who will explore her family's migration from Africa, and her former Albert Square co-star Larry Lamb will also be subjects.

Richard Madeley, tracing his roots back to the founding fathers of the US and Canada, will also appear.

Bee Gee Robin Gibb finds out about an ancestor's role in the 19th Century war with Afghanistan, former athlete Sebastian Coe visits Jamaica and the US.

Comedian Alan Carr is set to discover that his maternal great-grandfather changed his name in mysterious circumstances.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman learns of the poverty endured by his ancestors and artist Tracey Emin finds a family tree full of orthodox characters.

Silent Witness star Emilia Fox, meanwhile, discovers that treading the boards is in her blood.

The series is due to air in August.
BBC