Jonathan Wright previews upcoming programmes on history and family history
DNA Family Secrets
BBC Two and BBC iPlayer Tuesday 19 April (TBC)
You can now buy a DNA kit for less than £80. Around the world, millions of us have sent off DNA samples as a way to build family trees, to find out from which parts of the world our ancestors originated, and to look for markers of possible health risks. The idea of accessing techniques that were once at the cutting edge of science has become, if not quite commonplace, then at least a feature of day-to-day life, something to chat about in the pub.
Nevertheless, we are only just beginning to understand the power of DNA testing, and the way that it can change people’s views of themselves – and of their family histories too. This is something that’s made clear in DNA Family Secrets, a series that debuted in 2021 and returns to our TV screens this spring.
Hosted by Stacey Dooley, the programme features contributions from Prof Turi King of the University of Leicester, who led the genetics team that helped to identify the remains of Richard III. Genealogists, social workers and doctors are also on hand to guide and support those who take part. As WDYTYA? Magazine went to press, details of the new series were still being kept largely under wraps. This much we do know. There will be six episodes in total, and the opening show finds Dooley in Liverpool. Here she meets Richard, who has long wanted to know the identity of his father.
When he finally discovers the truth, he’s flabbergasted by what he learns. The show also features Janet, who has heard a rumour that her dad may have fathered a child when he was a prisoner of war during the Second World War. Does she have a secret sibling?
The Real Peaky Blinders
BBC iPlayer Streaming now
Family history can inspire both creative endeavour and scholarly research, even when that history is laced with violence. That’s one lesson to take from this two-part documentary, which complements the final series of Steven Knight’s gangster epic Peaky Blinders.
The shows reveal how both Knight and Prof Carl Chinn, who has researched the history of Birmingham’s street gangs back to the 19th century, have Peaky Blinders in their trees. Knight’s violent great uncles helped inspire the show, while Chinn’s great grandad was a thief.
Time Travels
BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Sounds Saturday 16 April
Presented by Susan Morrison, this consistently excellent social history series is back with a new batch of episodes. The first show explores two fascinating stories, beginning with the tale of Alison Rough, an Edinburgh war widow whose husband was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, when a Scottish force unsuccessfully invaded England. Rough managed to raise her family on her own, but the end of her life would be overshadowed by the death of her violent son-in-law.
The second story looks back at the 1970s, a time when unmarried young women in Scotland who ‘fell pregnant’ were very likely to be rushed to the altar before the bump showed. What effects did this have on their careers and lives?
The show also features an episode linked to the ‘100 Years of Scottish Stories’ project, in which BBC Radio Scotland has been asking listeners to share a story they want to pass down to future generations of their family.
Inside Museums
BBC Four April
In the wake of the pandemic, life in our museums is getting back to something like normal. Time, perhaps, to revisit your favourite institutions or find somewhere new to go. In which case, Inside Museums may help. Each of the four programmes in the series focuses on a single museum somewhere in the UK. In Wales, Huw Stephens heads to the National Slate Museum, celebrating an industry that was integral to the Welsh economy. The series also visits Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
NOW STREAMING: BBC iPlayer
My Family, The Holocaust And Me
By his own estimation, barrister and TV presenter Robert Rinder was probably “the least famous person” to appear on Who Do You Think You Are? in 2018. Nevertheless, his unforgettable episode, which focused on his family’s experiences during the Holocaust, prompted an “outpouring of conversation” among viewers who wanted to know more. It also inspired this immensely moving two-part documentary, which was first shown in 2020. As well as Rinder continuing his own research, the programmes also follow other Jewish people as they trace family stories linked to the Holocaust, in part as a way to understand the psychological impact on not just the survivors, but their children too.