September 2011 - Genes Reunited Blog

Richard Madeley was born in Romford in 1956 to a British father and Canadian mother. He knows quite a lot about his father's side of the family but wants to look more into his mother's side.

This week's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? delves into the family history of Richard Madeley, who is famous for his role as a chat show host with his wife Judy. The episode looks set to focus on his maternal Canadian family history. We've done a little digging ourselves and found some interesting information.

There have so far been mixed reviews about last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are. There were no amazing family revelations, no travelling abroad and the research venture back much further than 1850. However, I for one was particularly interested in last night's episode because it covered issues that are quite likely to come up in many people's own family history.

The next episode of Who Do You Think You Are? will delve into the family history of Bee Gees singer, Robin Gibb. We think they will focus on Mathew Gibb, a decorated soldier and Robin’s paternal great- grandfather. Not wanting to spoil any surprises in the show (that would be a tragedy) we have looked into the early life of Robin Gibb.

This week's Who Do You Think You Are is the family history of the comedian and presenter Alan Carr. Alan was interested to find out more about his paternal grandfather Wilfred Carr who played football for Newcastle between 1928 and 1930. Alan's own father, Graham, also has a career in football. He is the chief scout for Newcastle United. Alan's memories of his grandfather are of him as an old man kicking the football with his walking stick! So he was surprised to learn how talented his grandfather had been.

TV comic Alan Carr was born in Weymouth, Dorset, and grew up partly in Northampton where he went to Weston Favell School. His father is Graham Carr who used to be Northampton Town and Nuneaton Borough F.C. manager. On his father's side, his family hail from North East England. Carr has a younger brother, Gary. The show is said to examine whether Alan has any ancestors linked to football and fame.

I really enjoyed last night's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Emilia Fox's story was so interesting, what a talented family! Silent witness star Emilia Fox was 8 months pregnant when filming for the show. She was disappointed she knew so little about her ancestors and their lives, so wanted to delve deeper into her family history as a gift for her first born child.

Does acting run in the family? Tomorrow's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? sees Emilia Fox discover more about the acting dynasty she belongs to. We wonder what surprises her family history research will uncover. We didn't want to give away too much before the show airs, but here's a sneak peek at what we think they'll discover.

Larry Lamb shared his family history in the fourth episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, allowing us all, how with dedicated research you can find living relatives who are willing to meet. I'm Rhoda, Head of Genes Reunited, and for me Larry's story demonstrated the power of researching your family history, and showed the amazing ‘goose bump' moments that this subject matter can provide.