WDYTYA new series BBC1 9.00pm

[nanny jan]

Men were the narrators before Cheri;  David Morrisey and Mark Strong.

[andrewalston]

Now Lulu & Ruby Wax might get on my wick!

Don't worry! Some of the more interesting programmes have had subjects who I reckon are awful in their TV personas. It's the story revealed that counts.

[sallyyorks]

I know I probably sound like a broken record but I hope we get some English agricultural labourer/industrial labourer history for a change  .

[coombs]

No Steve McFadden, John Nettles, Ross Kemp or Chris Chittell yet then?

I think the BBC dont want the humble ag lab, soap boiler, drayman in the celebs trees. They want the tear jerker, the epic love story, the huge scandal, the transportation to Oz, the one who did religious marches and was an inventor.

[Ruskie]

In most cases our ag lab ancestors didn't leave much of a paper trail apart from bmd and census. It would not be easy to pad out a TV programme with just that, so I can understand that the programme makers need to find an angle. I don't think they mind if they find "lowly" people along the way as long as they can connect it to an interesting story.

The well to do left more behind, so there is more to find - it's probably just that simple.

There have been some humble ancestors in some celebrities' trees (Jeremy Paxman's comes to mind though there are others).

[pharmaT]

I agree with Ruskie, it's not that they are against ag labs but that they need a story to make a programme and a story is easier with more records.  Remember they are also trying to appeal to non genealogists.

I don't specifically remember ag labs but some episodes have had humble ancestors, Ricky Tomlinson's ancestor was a carter for example.  I can't remember who but I'm sure the workhouse has been discussed more than once.

[Ruskie]

Jeremy Paxman had workhouse ancestors.
Martin Freeman had syphillitic ancestors.

... just two that come to mind ....

[StevieSteve]

The case study they use for Ag Labs in the WDYTYA Encyclopedia is David Tennant

Scottish, not English, unfortunately for Sally

[ThrelfallYorky]

I think there are several reasons why programmes researching the family history of "unknowns" would be of little interest to the programme makers:
A "personality" attracts viewers who are interested in that person - as well as all of us who are interested in family history
An "unknown" subject might be super for us, if we were the subject of it - but probably of limited interest to most people, and a whole series would be rather repetitive.
- Interestingly, there was a letter printed in the "Radio Times" for the coming week, again wishing for the family history of unknowns rather than "celebs"......
I must admit, I'd rather the celebs, on the whole.