DNA Journeys
Wednesday 10 March (TBC) ITV
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are among Britain’s best-loved entertainers, well used to public acclaim. But even the presenters of I’m A Celebrity must surely have been a little surprised – and heartened – at the response to their appearance on 2019’s Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey, where production and transmission were delayed by McPartlin’s arrest for drink-driving and a spell in rehab. Here was a two-parter that, in shedding light on the duo’s friendship at a time it had come under severe strain, reconnected them to viewers by taking us behind their cheeky-chappy personas.
It would be asking a lot for programmes featuring celebrities who haven’t been through recent personal and career crises to have quite such power and poignancy. Nevertheless, the format here – two celebrities each taking DNA tests to learn more about the past and exploring their respective family histories with the help of professional genealogists – seems easily strong enough to warrant this full series.
Although specific details were still a little sketchy as we went to press, this much we do know. The shows will pair up sporting stars Freddie Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp, comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, TV personalities Amanda Holden and Alan Carr, plus Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet and EastEnders fame and his son Roman, a DJ for Capital. Joshing and friendly rivalry is promised, as are moments where stories from the past make it good to have the company of someone who’s a mate even when the cameras aren’t rolling. Intriguingly, Holden and Carr have appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? already.
As for the revelations we can expect, we’re promised tales that take in emigration to Canada following missing out on boarding the Titanic, the biggest robbery of 1840 and a prestigious award bestowed by a king – oh, and “spooky coincidences” too.