Who Do You Think You Are

Alicat

I know we all feel the show isn't what it used to be, but the stories can still be interesting.

New series starting this Thursday, 24th November with Danny Dyer.

Alicat

Full list here

pinkypinky

Cheryl is down to one name I see - I presume they'll investigate her birth name (Tweedy) and not one of her many married names.

Hermy

Reason enough not to watch it if you ask me Pinky.

tabbey

Just because someone is a celebrity, does not mean they cannot have interesting ancestry.

Everyone has a story to tell, even if we have to go back a long way in a few cases.

Most people have entertaining ancestors within two or three generations, it just takes time, dedication and effort to search the available records.

hjr

While I agree that the program has its flaws, it has had a few decent episodes over they years. Brendan O'Carroll was one, as was Billy Connolly, Jerry Springer as well....of course it has had many poor episodes too....!

L1011

Cheryl does not want to remind people of Cheryl Tweedy, the convicted racist - it'll probably be her mother's side!

Hermy

tabbey wrote: »

Just because someone is a celebrity, does not mean they cannot have interesting ancestry.

And similarly, just because someone isn't a celebrity does not mean they cannot have interesting ancestry.

It's well for some - who let's face it, are famous for being famous and not much else - having their ancestry professionally researched for them merely because of their fame.

I'm also not willing to endure the tears which are probably being rehearsed as we speak.;)

Alicat

Hermy wrote: »

I'm also not willing to endure the tears which are probably being rehearsed as we speak.;)

Oh so cynical, but probably oh so true :pac:

I've no time for her either but it'll be interesting to see what they've found. Really, I'm just nosy.

Jellybaby1

Heck, I'll watch it anyway out of curiosity.

pinkypinky

Who are we kidding?
We're all going to watch it and discuss it here.

Hermy

Au contraire.

KildareFan

I rarely watch it, but one episode led me to some family history. They did a programme on someone with Irish ancestry, and they flashed up a photo of the marriage of her grandmother and a family tree. The surname registered with me, as my own mother's surname, then I paid attention. And yes, the photo was of my mother's first cousin's wedding. The celebrity's great grandmother was my great aunt, and that's as close as I've come to celebrity - if anyone asks me who the hell do I think I am - well I'm a second cousin once removed of a celebrity who appeared on Who do you think you are.

Just to put me in my place and to my everlasting genealogical regret, they ignored my side of the family and focused on what they considered to be the more interesting branches of the celebrity's family tree... oh, the things I could have told them....

pinkypinky

*spoilers*

Well, I thought that was surprisingly good. Solid genealogy and not the story of what someone's granddad did in the war.

Line of the night "this geezer's got a drawbridge".

Mez1982

pinkypinky wrote: »

*spoilers*

Well, I thought that was surprisingly good. Solid genealogy and not the story of what someone's granddad did in the war.

Line of the night "this geezer's got a drawbridge".

Did NOT see that coming! Hopefully If all the episodes are as jaw dropping as that,then there should be a good few episodes to look forward too!

Alicat

I quite enjoyed it too. I thought he would annoy me too much but it was entertaining seeing him so flabbergasted.

Made me sick looking at how they jumped from 1850 or so back to bloody 1646 or whatever it was though! :pac:

pedroeibar1

Alicat wrote: »

I quite enjoyed it too. I thought he would annoy me too much but it was entertaining seeing him so flabbergasted.

Made me sick looking at how they jumped from 1850 or so back to bloody 1646 or whatever it was though! :pac:

I missed the beginning and arrived in before the bit about Oxford and the Civil war. It interested me as I'm a fan of that period in history, with 'probable' ancestors on both sides, and two of them in Oxford with the king.

The producers missed an opportunity to explain a 'gateway ancestor' - she was the Gryswold (sp? name?) bride c1800 - and they did not explain how they identified her as being connected to the Royalist colonel of 150 years earlier.

Anyone lucky enough to find a gateway ancestor usually can go back many generations, so there is a much increased likelihood of a 'royal' connection. Go back 22 generations and there is a potential 16 million ancestors, so there is always a royal connevction.

(I had to google Dyer, an irritating individual, laying it on with his 'gaffs' and the East End stuff. That he did not know either who the Plantagenets were (or how to pronounce the word) says a lot about him and the UK's education system!)

tabbey

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

(I had to google Dyer, an irritating individual, laying it on with his 'gaffs' and the East End stuff. That he did not know either who the Plantagenets were (or how to pronounce the word) says a lot about him and the UK's education system!)

Regrettably, products of the Irish educational system would be no better.

Leeside

I found it strange that having gone back 20 odd generations they stopped at King Edward III.

If they had gone back just one further generation they could have highlighted Edward's mother, Isabella who was known as the "She-wolf of France".

The first half of the programme was taken up with investigating a family story of a French connection and then no mention that they had found one. Very odd!

Maybe being the descendent of the She-wolf of France would have been just too much for that that guy Dyer.

Jellybaby1

I found it interesting. Pity they skipped so much in between the generations but of course they went directly to the big names. They did hop from paternal to maternal depending on where the most interesting people were. I'll give it a thumbs up even though I was surprised that I could hardly make out what Mr. Dyer said. All that watching of Only Fools and Horses does not really prepare you for proper cockney!!!

Jellybaby1

Liz Bonnin's episode was most interesting. Amazing with roots in France, India, Trinidad and Martinique she still comes across as an Irish girl and I really warmed to her when she reacted with 'Ahhhhhh, what am I like?'

pinkypinky

I liked her too but funnily my mother seemed to intensely dislike her.

shanew

interesting episode, and Liz seemed to be able to read quite a bit of the old records herself.. great twist with the two paternal ancestors and their wives, and Martinique looked beautiful, especially the beaches...