World of Chig   

18.10.07
Who does one think one is?

It was a deliciously brilliant piece of timing for the BBC to show Matthew Pinsent's family history adventure tonight, on the day when the BBC itself is one of the main news stories, as people begin to digest the cutbacks announced yesterday. In 'Who Do You Think You Are?' tonight, BBC One played one of its trump cards, by showing just how brilliant BBC factual programming can be.

I've been hooked on WDYTYA? since it started (and this is the end of series four), but tonight's was one of the best. It sent shivers down my spine and made me very jealous that I have only traced my family tree back eight generations in one direction to one person born in the 1770s. I don't want to spoil the programme if you didn't watch Pinsent's story tonight, but let's just say he was able to go considerably further back and uncover some rather famous connections. (I haven't had a team of BBC researchers and genealogists to help me though, and he hasn't put in the hours at the Family Records Centre that I have, which is half the fun.) I strongly recommend you catch it when it's repeated. The repeats are currently running a few weeks behind the first showings (with Carol Vorderman's programme on after midnight tonight and Alistair McGowan's next week), but they're shown again, with signing, late on Thursday nights.

Pinsent's quest is the family history hunt to end them all, and will either encourage thousands more to start investigating their own family trees, or make people give up, because they know they will never...

No, enough, I'll say no more. Just look out for it when it's on again. If you are going to watch it, DON'T read this - it gives away too much information. If you happened to catch it tonight, what did you think?

Photo courtesy BBC.

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