Who Do You Think You Are? returns this Oct

BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?

Their travels to discover their relatives take us back in time and around the world as we see how their ancestor's lives have shaped the world they live in today.

The series uses the popular past-time of genealogy to unlock the major themes in history.

New Series this October 2020.

Award-winning family history show Who Do You Think You Are? will return to BBC One this October – with a four-part line-up of famous faces, filmed before the coronavirus lockdown began.

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker, comedian and author David Walliams, Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones and Silent Witness actress Liz Carr will take turns uncovering the unexpected, fascinating and sometimes tragic tales in their family trees.

Jodie Whittaker learns the poignant reality behind a family myth surrounding her great uncle’s sacrifice in the First World War, while unearthing some uncomfortable truths about her great-great grandfather in Yorkshire.

Jodie Whittaker 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.”

In the other episodes of the series television personality, author and actor David Williams discovers a great-great grandfather who forged a career as a travelling performer after becoming blind and also discovers a family tragedy involving his great grandfather’s experiences in the Great War of 1914 -18.

Walliams said: “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.”

There’s more First World War history as Silent Witness actress Liz Carr learns of her paternal grandfather’s experiences in the Royal Navy’s Northern Patrol and also exposes one of her ancestor's involvements in an attempted murder.

Ruth Jones, best known as Gavin & Stacey’s Nessa, learns that her paternal grandfather was a key player in the precursor to the NHS, the Medical Aid Societies of South Wales, while also discovering a long line of globe-trotting mariners on her mother’s side.

BBC Ones’ Who Do You Think You Are? returns this October 2020.