WDYTYA? Series 18 - Alex Scott

Last Tuesday's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featured Alex Scott - ex-footballer and TV presenter.

Alex is a biracial Black woman, with interesting and strong characters on all sides of her family.

Her episode focussed on both her maternal and paternal lines of ancestry - i.e. her mother's and her father's sides of her family.

Alex was surprised to learn that on her mother's side of the family, she had Russian (Lithuanian) Jewish ancestors, who lived in London's East End.

The exploration of the threat of fascism and police brutality against Jewish immigrants in the 1930s was, as she herself points out, something that should be more prominent in the nation's memory.

This is something that happened in living memory, and forgetting the amount of support Hitler and the Nazis had in this country is something that we cannot afford to do.

Alex also explored her Jamaican family from her father's side of the family, being especially interested in the family of her beloved grandmother.

Much of this part of the family was a story of hardships and survival.

But there was also some uncomfortable history to contend with.

One of Alex's ancestors was a person of colour - in these circumstances, a light-skinned Black person, possibly with white ancestry - who owned slaves.

This can be hard to fathom, but the embedding of slavery within societies was deep and complex, and free people of colour - especially those with some white ancestry, or of a certain social status - often owned slaves.

It can be difficult to reconcile the events of the past with our morality in the present. 

Alex was clearly struggling with the revelations, and it's something many British and Commonwealth Black people have to contend with - the complex feelings attached to being descended from both slaves and slave owners.

Still, Alex faced her family's history as it was - knowing the past can be a powerful thing, no matter the ups and downs.

A reminder that the very last date to get in touch for Christmas orders from Family History By Cerys is 1st November 2021. More details here. 

Get in touch by 6pm GMT to avoid disappointment

WDYTYA? series 18 - Dame Judi Dench

 

Last Tuesday's episode of Who Do You Think Are? (WDYTYA?) series 18 featured actress Dame Judi Dench.

Judi Dench's episode moved from talking about her father's First World War experiences to discussing her mother's illustrious ancestors, both of which were interesting stories, and the movement from one to the other not feeling as awkward as these things often do.

The affecting story of her father's service in World War One is a reminder that, despite ending over a hundred years ago, it has only very recently passed from living memory.

Finding out what her father had been through was clearly very emotional for Judi, which is totally understandable.

Sometimes the most hard-hitting things we find when researching family history are about the people we personally knew and loved.

When the episode moved on to Dench's maternal family, it became clear that not only was she the descendant of Irish nobility, but also of Danish nobility.

What made me laugh was that she seemed quite annoyed no-one had known this before - how dare nobody remember back several centuries?!

It all got a bit Hamlet there for a while - Denmark and Elsinore and lords and ladies of the court.

The coincidence of Hamlet being Judi Dench's debut (as Ophelia) just goes to show that history can be a funny thing sometimes - and repeat itself in the strangest of ways!

A reminder that the very last date to get in touch for Christmas orders from Family History By Cerys is 1st November 2021. More details here. 

Don't miss out!

WDYTYA? Series 18 - Josh Widdicombe

 

Josh Widdicombe's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? started the series off with a bang - a story of riches and royalty and scandal.

The producers clearly had a lot to pack into this episode - starting with a banking dynasty, and ending with Hollywood-worthy tales of royalty. In fact, many aspects of Josh's family's tale have been turned into Hollywood films - The Other Boleyn Girl springs to mind.

In all that, though, some things were lost which, though unpleasant, are as much a part of Josh's family story as any of the more glamourous aspects.

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, some of the goods traded in by the Baring brothers - who founded Barings bank - were listed as coffee, sugar, etc.

This rang a not-so-comfortable bell to me, given the time period in which the Baring brothers were operating. 

A quick and cursory search of University College London's excellent British Slavery database shows what I suspected - members of the Baring family were significant beneficiaries of the massive compensation scheme that paid slave-owners for the 'inconvenience' of losing their slaves after the abolition.

I realise that there was a lot to pack in to a relatively short episode - in fact, the show-runners could probably do several series just on Josh Widdicombe's family and not run out of material.

But, given that we were being told how successful and respected the Baring family were, a simple sentence of acknowledgement of their part in the slave trade would not have gone amiss. 

I can't believe that any researchers on the flagship genealogy TV programme in the UK would have missed recognising the slavery connection entirely, which means that the decision was made at some point - maybe even in post-production - to focus elsewhere.

Still, despite that notable omission, this was an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable episode - not least because of Josh Widdicombe's reactions.

There was plenty of ammo for a comedian to react to - from the little-known occupation of groom of the stool (a much sought-after job of... accompanying the King to the toilet,) to the scandals of the Tudor court.

And it was fascinating - much of Josh's family history personalises pivotal moments of British history: the Civil War, the reign of Elizabeth I, the tumultuous court of Henry VIII.

It was certainly well worth the watch! Hopefully the rest of this series will prove just as absorbing.

A reminder that the very last date to get in touch for Christmas orders from Family History By Cerys is 1st November 2021. More details here.

Get In Touch Now For Christmas Orders!

 

Time flies - especially when you're a genealogist.

So, to give me enough time to do the research for that special Christmas gift you've been thinking of, I need you to get in touch with me by 6pm (GMT) on Monday 1st November 2021.

The earlier the better - because the more chance I'll have to work on that extra-special present - but 6pm on 1st Nov is the very last time I can take new enquiries for Christmas orders. 

Make sure you don't miss out!

After the 1st Nov, gift certificates, tailored to your needs, will still be available, so don't hesitate to get in touch.

My Branch (£250 + £15 P&P) and Double-Branch (£450 + £15 P&P) packages make for beautiful gifts, printed in paperback-book format as standard.

The Branch package follows one surname (one family line) of your choosing, whereas the Double-Branch follows two.

Larger projects can be arranged - just drop me an e-mail at the e-mail address on my order information page, and we can discuss options.

Christmas is made for family and those we love, so a gift of family history is the perfect present!

Remember, if you want to order a package for Christmas, you need to get in touch with me by 6pm on Monday November 1st 2021.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 18

 

The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? (WDYTYA?) starts next Tuesday, at 9pm on BBC1, except here in Wales where, because we have 'Wonders of the Celtic Deep' (which is about seals) at 9pm, we get to watch WDYTYA? at 10.35pm instead.

(I would be annoyed, but seals are adorable.)

As always, the episodes will be available on iPlayer anyway.

Of course, a new series means new celebrities, so here's the most recent batch:

• comedian Josh Widdicombe
• actress Dame Judi Dench
• politician Ed Balls
• footballer and presenter Alex Scott
• comedian and presenter Joe Lycett
• singer Pixie Lott
• YouTuber and presenter Joe Sugg

I'll probably be back here in the week after each episode airs to give you some of my thoughts on each one