I didn't think to ask my mother-in-law and her mother about their family history while they were alive, and only got into family history at all, because M-i-L had started. And it was only because she had, that I thought to ask my own mother about my ancestors, before it was too late. She still keeps coming up with things she remembers! Was MF ever in a situation when she could ask her mother much about her background? She did mention that she knew that her mother and grandmother were both raped by Russian soldiers, so she obviously knew something about her mother's life during the war, but I can't remember if she said how old she was when she and her mother talked about it. That, of course, is the odd thing about many of the episodes, of whichever series, that few of the celebs seem to have talked much to their families about their ancestors, although some had made a start. It seems that, once the BBC has made the offer to look into their ancestors, it suddenly becomes really, really interesting to them!
Now, I realise, of course, that many of them are very busy people, and some of them, particularly in the earlier series, had made a start, but I do wonder if some of them really have a genuine interest in their ancestors. The Indian actor, Nitin, from whichever soap, obviously found his whole family history fascinating, and very much wanted to pass the story onto his young sons. Some, though, have been seriously underwhelmed, and that has applied to a number over all the series. Just looking at a load of papers can't help. I still wasn't sure, at the end of MF's episode, whether she'd learned much that she didn't know, or suspected, already.
