Genealogy fit for a queen
Who Do You Think You Are? Mondays from 9 July BBC One
Following on from the episode featuring Our Girl star Michelle Keegan, which was shown as part of the BBC’s ‘Hear Her’ season in June, the rest of the 15th series of Who Do You Think You Are? will be arriving on our screens over the summer.
Four of the seven forthcoming episodes will be shown in July, with Olivia Colman leading off proceedings on 9 July. As we also explore in our series preview on page 19, it’s a journey into the past that sees the star of The Night Manager and, taking over from Claire Foy as Elizabeth II, The Crown go to India – somewhat to Colman’s amazement, considering she was excited just to hear family stories of a French ancestor.
On 16 July, it’s the turn of Lee Mack. As well as exploring the life of a funnyman forebear who served on the Western Front, the creator of hit sitcom Not Going Out also learns about Irish roots on his mother’s side of the family when he travels to Ballina in Co Mayo. It’s a visit that helps Mack to understand the character of his grandad, Joe, a man who was something of a worrier. A week later singer Boy George traces his roots, which also lie partly in Ireland.
Finally in July, Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas uncovers a family history that, via her bareknuckle-boxer grandfather, takes her to South Africa where her great grandfather, George Rich, was born. It’s an episode rich in historical detail as Ballas learns about the multiracial history of Cape Colony, which Great Britain wrested from Dutch control in 1795. Without giving too much away, it’s a story that encompasses preapartheid prejudice, slavery, and links between Africa and Asia.
The series continues through early August, with the episodes featuring Marvin Humes, Robert ‘Judge’ Rinder and Jonnie Peacock. Jonathan Wright