Season 12

2015 · 10 episodes

Episodes

1Paul HollywoodPaul Hollywood looks into his family's past this week. His journey takes him first to North Africa where his grandfather had only just completed his training when he found himself in Tunisia as part of the Light Anti-Aircraft division tasked with protecting infantry from enemy air attack during a major Allied offensive to take Tunis from the Germans. He then makes his way to Italy where he learns his grandfather was part of the landing force that became surrounded by German forces and trapped on the beaches at Anzio for four months.
2Jane SeymourJane Seymour was born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg and knows that there is Jewish ancestry on her father’s side of the family. She wants to find out about her Jewish great aunts Michaela and Jadwiga and their lives under Nazi occupation.
3Derek JacobiActor Derek Jacobi discovers that he is descended from a Huguenot fleeing persecution.
4Jerry HallJerry Hall knows her father’s family originally came from Oldham, but wants to discover how they ended up in America.
5Gareth MaloneGareth Malone wants to know how far back his musical gene goes and he attempts to find out more. His investigations into his mother's side of the family take him to London's West End, where he learns that his great-great-grandfather was a star of musical comedy and performed in front of George V.
6Anne ReidActress Anne Reid was close to her father but knows very little about his family. She only has a couple of clues to go on - the name of a house in Scotland and a family story that her father's side were ministers in the church. These clues soon put her on the trail of her great-great-grandfather John Reid - not a minister at all, but a schoolteacher in Fife with a sideline in forgery. When John's forgeries land him in the dock his life takes an unexpected turn - to Tasmania, on a convict ship.
7Frank GardnerJournalist Frank Gardner was very close to his late mother and is keen to know more about her side of the family. Frank's mother always told him that the family arrived in Britain with the Normans. Frank sets off to discover if there is any truth in the rumour. Along the way, he traces his family tree back to his ten times great-grandfather Sir Michael Stanhope - a knight of the Tudor court - who was accused of treason. But Frank's journey doesn't end there, and he is astonished to discover that his mother's suspicions are closer to the truth than he could ever have imagined.
8Anita RaniJournalist Anita Rani never met her maternal grandfather Sant Singh - all she has been told is that he suffered terrible tragedy at the time of India's Partition. Anita's mother also tells her that Sant had another wife and family before marrying Anita's grandmother. Armed with this knowledge, Anita travels to India to see if she can find out more about her grandfather's first family - and discover what happened to them during Partition. It's an extraordinary and harrowing journey for Anita.
9Mark GatissActor and writer Mark Gatiss has always had a love of storytelling and a passion for the ghastly and ghoulish but has always wondered where it comes from. So when he discovers that his mother's side of the family goes back five generations to the wilds of Northern Ireland, his imagination is awakened. Mark travels to Ireland, where he untangles a tale of rags to riches and finds out that his family were storytellers and (allegedly) vampire slayers!
10Frances de la TourFrances de la Tour's family tree holds a tantalising clue which hints at aristocratic ancestors. Hot on the trail of her three times great grandmother Frances uncovers a story of a secret lover, an illegitimate child and a landmark divorce case. But the scandal doesn't stop there. Tracing back another generation Frances uncovers the tragic story of Sophia Delaval - and traces her roots back to Seaton Delaval, the historic family residence.