David Walliams Ruth Jones and Liz Carr

Comedians David Walliams Ruth Jones and Liz Carr are to delve into their family history in the next series of Who Do You Think You Are?

They join Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker in the genealogy series, when it returns to BBC One for four new episodes this October.

Walliams uncovers a relative’s traumatic experience during the First World War and learns that showbusiness runs in the family, thanks to a great-great grandfather who, forged a career as a travelling entertainer after becoming blind.

He said: ‘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.’

Carr, now best known for her role in Silent Witness, investigates an ancestor’s role in a real attempted murder.

She said her mum was ‘an armchair genealogist… [who] has dragged us around graveyards in search of our ancestors but to no avail so I’m hoping this will now all stop

‘I have loved every moment of discovery, of following in the footsteps of my ancestors,’ she added. ‘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.’

Gavin and Stacey star and co-creator Ruth Jones learns that her paternal grandfather was a key player in the Medical Aid Societies of South Wales, which provided a model for the National Health Service. She also discovers a lineage of world-travelling mariners on her mother’s side.

She 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!’

Published: 24 Sep 2020