who do you think you are

They probably took the name of the slave owner, so that could be a clue.

Hurray! Derek Jacobi has rescued this programme for me. Wonderful family story, great research, and some little known historical facts. Never knew about the Huguenots in William 1's army or at the Battle of the Boyne. Lets hope the improvement continues.

Oh good! I haven't watched the latest one with Derek Jacobi yet, so will look forward to that . I have to agree that the WW2 theme has been getting so dull and repetitive - it is history that is really far too recent to make it interesting in this context. The Jane Seymour episode had some very interesting, and terribly sad, content but really it was more to do with the social history of the Polish Jews in WW2 than her personal family tree. I would far rather have seen the programme trace her ancestry back several more generations.

And yes, Luckygirl, the 'even I cannot read that' remark grated with me too. As did the artfully posed scene where she sat on the ledge against that huge window overlooking Warsaw (I think it was?). I think she, and the programme producers, forgot for a moment that she wasn't actually acting a part here. Or maybe she was...

Yes the Derek Jacobi episode was very interesting. He seemed so pleased to hear about his prosperous and intrepid Huguenot ancestor and the programme ended on a happy note but this ancestor's family had all ended up in the poorhouse. I'd like to have heard what happened and how this wealthy well connected family plummeted into such penury.
I didn't even bother watching last weeks one. I just wasn't interested in her and it sounds as though I didn't miss much!

Derek Jacobi was excellent and I learned a huge amount about the Huguenots etc. And it was interesting to go further back in time. I agree it would have been good to trace the family's "decline." But there was probably insufficient time. And Derek Jacobi was charming and did not have emotional diarrhoea thank goodness.

I sometimes watch the programme even if it is someone I am not interested in as their history can itself be interesting.

I really enjoyed the Derek Jacobi programme too. Much more interesting and he seemed such a nice bloke.

I found the Derek Jacobi programme interesting, I have to quite like the celebrity in the first place to bother watching this though.So, only watch a very few ( I liked the Twiggy one a while back.)the history grabbed the attention, and good to watch Derek Jacobi, obviously moved by the story but not bursting into tears like so many, which is a relief.His ancester was quite a character!

Derek Jacobi's was very interesting a great story. I have to confess it's a bit more fascinating when the programme delves back further into history rather than just a generation or two. If I remember rightly Julia Sawalha, a few series ago, had Huguenot ancestry on her mother's side as well as a fascinating Palestinian background on her father's side.

Derek came over as a very nice man.

Really enjoyed it too- such a nice man- as we share Huguenot ancestry, even more interesting- mine came over to Switzerland, his to England- some went and settle the Cape and started the SA wine industry.

Never visited the Huguneot Church in Soho. but I loved the Huguenot Chapel under Canterbury Cathedral- such a huge symbol of tolerance at the time- so moving.

When the Huguenots arrived in London and the South, the locals must have felt totally overwhelmed by all those immigrants needing help and support. Watching the programme explaining how the Huguenots were tortured and persecuted, and their children torn apart and burnt to force a conversion, was so reminiscent of what is happening with Isis and Boko Haram, etc.

The Derek Jacoibi one was very good. I think it helps when the "celebrity" is educated and intelligent, with some of them most of the stories seem to go right over their heads and you wonder why any one bothered with them.

I enjoyed the Sheila Hancock one a few years ago. I loved the way that all her grandmother's delusions of grandeur and rubbing shoulders with royalty turned out to be true. Nice to know that some of us mad old grannies aren't mad after all

OMG- mil's maiden name was definitely Dutch - so maybe... not sure how many generations back became free- only to get caught again by the awful Apartheid regime.

Granjura, can you watch it again on you-tube or something, because I am sure I saw a reference to Switzerland on one of the papers that was shown to Derek Jacobi near the end.

54 minutes in.
Armand de Bastide, son of John de Bastide, born in Bern, Switzerland.
Armand de Bastide was Jacobi's great uncle x7.

yes, I picked that up, but it just wasn't discussed in the programme- most Huguenots, like my ancestors, headed for the French speaking Jura. My maiden name is directly related to Huguenot, like so many other versions of the name, here.

I suppose Jacobi just was not interested in Switzerland. He might have followed that up but found nothing there.
What I liked was the fact that he knew so much about it from his history studies. Wish I could remember dates, etc., like he seemed to be able to do.

If you are interested in tracing your own family history I can really recommend ancestry.co.uk. I joined in March to give me something to do whilst recovering from a hip replacement and it is absolutely fascinating and not at all difficult to do once you get the hang of it. I did my own FT years ago (without benefit of Ancestry) so I'm now doing DH's and have found out all sorts of things.

When is the current series of Who Do You think You Are? on, please?

Thursday at 9.00 p.m.
Jerry Hall next week.

Thanks, dj. That explains why I have missed it so far - Thursday night is badminton night! - but I will record it next week.

I enjoyed Gareth Malone's episode last night - mainly because he bears a passing resemblance to a normal human being rather than a cardboard cutout celeb - and clearly had a strong sense of family. His delight in in theatrical ancestors was charming.

I thought the Gareth Malone programme intensely irritating. Why does he insist on singing when he has such a weak voice?

I don't think he has a weak voice - he has the sort of tenor voice that sits well in a choir and in certain sorts of music - baroque or lieder in particular. Pavarotti he ain't but that does not detract from the tuneful poise of his voice.

I quite enjoyed it but partly because it brought back memories when he sang "The Bold Gendarme". Every Christmas my primary school had a concert and the Headmaster and deputy head dressed as policemen and sang that and "the Laughing Policeman. They were both large men who were usually very serious, but they brought the house down as they sang and danced around a prop lamppost. I wonder if they were recreating Gareth's GGGD's act?