WDYTYA? - Frank Gardner

In an exceptionally interesting episode, last night's Who Do You Think You Are? featured BBC journalist Frank Gardner's prestigious ancestors.

Of historical interest in so many ways, the episode darted around the various intrigues of Frank's family in the hopes of highlighting some of the array of family stories hiding in his tree branches. As a result, what we have is a glimpse into the life and tragedy of an eminent Victorian scientist and biologist (all very period drama,) and the ups and downs of political life for the erstwhile Michael Stanhope (all very 'Wolf Hall.')

The episode also highlights the historical position of the 'groom of the stool' - the King of England, oddly enough, used to have a man who literally... cleaned him up... after he used the privy. It was actually a highly sought-after position - not least because of the trust and access to the King that it provided.

An interesting episode, which once again proves that it pays to have posh ancestors - there'll be a lot more recorded about them if you do!

WDYTYA? - Anne Reid

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was the turn of Anne Reid, an actress best known for Coronation Street and Last Tango in Halifax. Anne's history was mired in the beautiful Scots landscape - which created a stunning backdrop to the episode.

The episode mainly focused on the tale of John Reid - a village teacher who was dismissed on account of various actions related to his alcoholism. Anne really seemed to feel a connection with John, despite his bad behaviour, as he seemed to have more spark than the other inhabitants of the small Scottish village in which he lived.

The episode also featured a look at the British penal colony in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in Australia. The look at the life of convicts in Australia was interesting and informative - though I can't say that I agree with Anne's apparent view that any one convict is more deserving of a more comfortable job than another.

WDYTYA? - Gareth Malone

Last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was focused on Gareth Malone (presenter of The Choir, etc.,) and his theatrical ancestors.

What I personally like was the way the episode managed to skirt around the less reputable aspects of, in particular, the music hall in Liverpool. Victorian music halls were quite scandalous, and the promise of private boxes available for 'Captains and Gentlemen' was perhaps less respectable than Gareth Malone seemed to think.

What was truly remarkable though, was that Gareth was able to track down a voice recording and a piece of film of his 2x great-grandfather, who was a comic actor. People are rarely so lucky!

The music hall in Dublin did make my brain go to some truly awful puns about Dublin and Malone - involving a certain traditional song in which a girl sells shellfish. But, the less said about that, the better!

WDYTYA? - Jerry Hall

(Apologies for posting this a day later than normal.)

Thursday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featured ex-model and ex-Mrs Jagger, Jerry Hall. A Texan by birth, Jerry found that her roots went deeper into the United States than she expected.

There was an interesting mix of history here - from life as a mill-worker in Oldham to a railway-worker in Texas, and land owners in various states in the West and South of the US. The main story here though was the Western frontier - as the US pushed West, Jerry's family pushed with them. This is a tale of hardship and prosperity, cowboys and 'Indians.'

One thing that struck me though is the detail that is available in some US records - I suppose it's only logical that when there are less people in a particular town or state, there is less local news to report, and so more chance that anything which the inhabitants of that town did, went through, or achieved, would be recorded.