Wright back in time
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? BBC1, 9pm ESSEX boy Mark Wright has a suspicion that “something on the iffy side” happened in his family history.
“It’s the unknown, and that scares me and excites me,” he says.
The TOWIE star turned TV personality is engaging on screen – and his journey through his ancestors’ lives is a fascinating one.
He’s from a close-knit London east end clan and his “No1 goal” is to give his idol and grandad Eddie answers to the family’s past. Mark says he grew up hearing half-stories from his grandad about where the Wrights might be from – there’s a rumour of Italian heritage.
And in other Wright family stories, Mark’s great-great-grandfather is said to have disappeared to America without telling his wife – to buy horses from Native Americans.
Starting off in London’s east end, Mark gets his first surprise when he sees his great-great-grandfather’s birth and marriage certificates.
A criminal past is brought to light that could answer a few questions. Later, he turns his attention to his great-grandmother Annie’s family line. With the discovery that his three times great-grandfather Henry was a Passover baker, it seems his family could be Jewish.
And in an amusing turn of events, the investigation leads to the discovery of relatives in southern Spain.
“Right near Marbella,” says Mark, with excitement. “On the beach, Plaza Beach, cocktail in hand, I can now when I’m sat there like that say, ‘This is For Mark