‘THE PARALLELS WITH MY BOOKS WERE EXTRAORDINARY’
Richard Osman experiences some uncanny coincidences when he traces his family back to the 18th century
Thursday, 9pm, BBC One
Celebs are queueing up to trace their roots on Who Do You Think You Are? and when it was Pointless host and author Richard Osman’s turn to look back at his family tree, he tells us it was “extraordinary” – and not the experience he expected.
The quiz show presenter and crime novelist looks back to the
18th century and discovers that one of his ancestors ended up entangled in a notorious murder trial. “I’ve always wanted to do the show. And, you know, it was fascinating. You can’t really go very far back in my family. I don’t have one of those families that’s got a kind of coat of arms or a manor house somewhere,” he explains.
“So it’s fascinating going back through the generations. And there was an extraordinary story in the 18th century, where essentially my relatives formed an amateur detective gang to solve a crime, like a famous murder.”
Richard found out that his ancestors were in a similar situation to the premise of his book The Thursday Murder Club – where four friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. “The parallels with my books, which are about a gang of amateurs teaming up and solving murders, were absolutely extraordinary,” he says.
“When you think about all the stories that could be in your past, to have that was very, very weird indeed.”
He also reveals that he was close to his maternal grandfather Fred when he was growing up. Fred was a military man who became an expert signaller – and Richard learns why it gave his grandfather a profound belief in the power of education, which he passed on to his grandson.
On his family coming from Brighton, he adds, “I always thought I came from Brighton but I didn’t really know how far back and to see that I’d been there for many years and that my family have been at the sort of beating heart of the community all that time was lovely.”
BBC commissioning editor
Carl Callam says this series focuses on bringing “history to life”, adding, “We are pleased to be back with a new series of Who Do You Think
You Are?.
“It’s great to see some of our most-loved celebrities trace their family history through these remarkable journeys and their compelling stories. It’s such an extraordinary series, one that has story and heart at the centre, with a real resonance that brings history to life and shines a light on who and where we are now.”