The Complete Third Series of Who Do You Think You Are? features an all-star line-up including Doctor Who’s David Tennant, the much-loved Barbara Windsor, acclaimed actor Robert Lindsay, sports star Colin Jackson, antique expert David Dickinson and actors Julia Sawalha and Jeremy Irons. Which star finds themselves in Armenia and Turkey in search of a precious lost history? Who finds themselves bedded down with the Bedouin? One unexpected discovery is a lost relative in the painter Constable. Another is an oft-felt heritage, a certainty of place, rewarded by the truth...

Who Do You Think You Are, was always going to be an interesting concept for a program, given that we live in a culture that wants to know every morsel of information about celebrity’s lives. The success of the show, and its branching off into other media, shows just how much interest this sort of programming can generate.

With the release of Series Three, spread over three discs (480 mins) we are given glimpses into another eight peoples ancestors, hoping that this will enlighten us about the celebrity in question. Each of the shows follows the same format with each individual pouring over old records and delving into the now passing memories of aged relatives.

This time around we get to take a journey into the past with Barbara Windsor, Robert Lindsay, Colin Jackson, David Dickinson, Nigella Lawson, Julia Sawalha, David Tennant and Jeremy Irons. There is an intimacy created between the various celebs and the audience as there is footage of other family members interacting in a way which does much to removes the stars mystique.

Each of the episodes is compelling viewing. Although this makes for good television I couldn’t help but feel that there was something a little false about the whole thing. Let’s face it, after five, soon to be six, series I have yet to see one in which no one of interest was found - there always seems to be a story there.

I’ll admit that this may just be me as my better half has traced her genealogy back many generations, though none of the seem to  have a story worth telling - which leaves you with the thought that much of what looks to be a documentary had already been carefully researched.

The disc comes with subtitles, celebrity biographies and some useful links, should you wish to follow in their footsteps and trace your own families’ history. Even if there is some artifice about the whole deal, it does little to damage this popular show and anything which gets people interested in history is always a good thing.

7

Charles Packer