Family tree
I’m generally rabidly averse to any TV programme with a significant ‘celebrity’ element (Celebrity Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Celebrity Strictly Come Dancing, or whatever it is), but I’ve been really enjoying Who Do You Think You Are?. I suspect that’s because it’s not really about celebrities at all, but rather about the fascinating lives of the extraordinary, ordinary people who happen to be our ancestors. The celebrities seem to be there to draw in viewers who would normally have no interest in genealogy, and also to provide a presenter who is fairly comfortable and articulate in front of the camera.
The idea behind the series (for those who haven’t seen it) is that that they investigate the family tree of a celebrity, tracing back interesting stories as far as they can, and in the process revealing some very interesting things about social history. You tend to forget that the subject of the programme is famous after a while, and become fascinated by the lives of their ancestors.
