The celebrity line up for Who Do You Think You Are? in 2020 has been revealed – here’s all you need to know.
The genealogy show returns for a seventeenth series this autumn on BBC One with a brand new star studded line-up from the worlds of TV, sport, music, comedy and dance.
In each episode, a celebrity traces their family tree and a host of names have signed up to explore their ancestry in 2020.
Who Do You Think You Are? started on BBC One on Monday, October 12 at 9PM and continues weekly on Mondays on BBC One. You can watch episodes online and catch up via the BBC iPlayer here.
Who Do You Think You Are 2020 line up and episodes
Jodie Whittaker – October 12
Doctor Who actor Jodie Whittaker finds out how her great-great-grandfather worked his way up from child labourer in a Yorkshire coal mine to mine owner.
Jodie said: “Who Do You Think You Are? took me on an incredible journey through some of my family history. I discovered people and events that I had no idea existed before this. I was lucky to go home and see my Mum and Dad, lucky to see places I’d never been to before, and lucky to meet and shake hands with (!) some wonderful and intelligent people whose insight into history blew my mind. And only in February did I embark on this journey, and knowing where we are now, it feels even more special to have had this adventure”
David Walliams – October 19
Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams learns of his great-grandfather’s traumatic experiences during the First World War, which condemned him to a lifetime in what was then called a lunatic asylum.
David commented: “I’m delighted to have taken part in the series. I started off the journey knowing very little about my ancestry. In making the programme I found out lots of family history I would never would have learned of. I was pleased to discover that being an entertainer runs in the family.”
Ruth Jones – October 26
Actor Ruth Jones – Nessa from Gavin and Stacey – uncovers her grandfather’s role in the Medical Aid Societies of south Wales, which provided a model for the NHS.
Ruth said: “Filming Who Do You Think You Are? was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I feel so privileged to have been taken on this spectacular journey into my heritage and to have discovered so much about my ancestors.
“I’ve probably been guilty of assuming people from by-gone generations were stuffy, two dimensional and a bit dull. But my trip on Who Do You Think You Are? has proved the opposite to be true. I feel like I’ve got to know the real people behind the fading sepia photographs and it’s made me want to find out more. Ancestry is where it’s at!”
Liz Carr – November 2
Silent Witness actor Liz Carr gets forensic about her family history, discovering that her great-great-great-grandfather was involved in an attempted murder in rural Northern Ireland in the 1850s.
Liz shared: “I’ve watched Who Do You Think You Are? over the years so to be selected to have the show research my family history has been a wonderfully surreal experience. An armchair genealogist, my mum has dragged us around graveyards in search of our ancestors but to no avail so I’m hoping this will now all stop (probably not – knowing my mum!).
“I have loved every moment of discovery, of following in the footsteps of my ancestors and learning how the past really has informed my present. All of the experts were generous and fascinating as they guided me back in time to introduce me to my family. Before doing Who Do You Think You Are? all I really knew about my ancestors was that they had died but now I know that they lived and how they lived. I like knowing that, I like knowing who they were and I feel very proud to be related to them.”
Who Do You Think You Are? airs Monday nights on BBC One at 9PM.
You can watch online and stream episodes on catch up via the BBC iPlayer.
Past series have featured the likes of Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, music manager and former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, James Bond actress Naomie Harris and reality star turned TV presenter Mark Wright.
