Unmissable moments

The biggest surprise on the show had to be Danny Dyer’s appearance – not least because his high-jinks-packed hunt concluded with the discovery that he is a direct descendant of Edward III. ‘I don’t know what to say,’ he said. ‘I need a moment to digest this. A kid from Canning Town is related to Edward III.’ The show was nominated for the BAFTA must-see moment in 2017.

Another celebrity of royal descent is Olympian Matthew Pinsent. Researchers traced his lineage back to Edward I and William the Conqueror – then even further back following the discovery of an ancient scroll which stated William was a descendant of God, through Adam and Eve.

Presenter Emma Willis was shocked to discover that her five-timesgreat-grandfather was a murderer. He’d been involved with the kidnapping, stabbing and torturing of a blacksmith and his son during religious tensions in Ireland at the time. ‘That’s exactly what I didn’t want to find out,’ she told the cameras.

During Ainsley Harriott’s time on the show, there were some incredible moments including an emotional revelation that his great-greatgreat-grandmother was a slave – and that she had been bought at just two years old. After travelling to Barbados to find out more, he was stunned to discover his great-great-great grandfather came from a long line of white slave owners.

Jeremy Paxman was reduced to tears after learning of his widowed great-grandmother’s struggle to raise nine children in the slums of late Victorian Glasgow. ‘We just don’t know we’re born,’ he said. ‘This family history business, it’s upsetting.’