Who Do You Think You Are? is an Irish genealogy documentary series that first aired on RTÉ One in 2008. It is made by the production company Mint. In each episode, a celebrity goes on a journey to trace his or her lineage through a family tree. The series is based on the original version of the franchise, broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom. A third series started on 9 September 2018 with six new episodes.[3]
| Who Do You Think You Are? | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | Ingrid Gargan Imogen Murphy Mark Warren Gerry Hoban |
| Narrated by | Arthur Riordan[2] |
| Composer | Mark Sayer- Wade |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Steve Carson Miriam O'Callaghan |
| Producers | Isobel Nolan Marie Eschenbach |
| Editor | Gerry Hoban |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Mint Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 15 September 2008[1] – 14 October 2018 |
| Related | |
| British version of Who Do You Think You Are? | |
Notable discoveries
editIn the first episode, RTÉ news reporter Charlie Bird discovered his great-great-grandfather had been involved in the Battle of the Nile (1798) and served under Admiral Nelson himself, whilst Bird also discovered that his grandfather was a bigamist.[4]
In the fifth episode, RTÉ presenter Pamela Flood travelled through "19th-century Dublin, taking in red light districts, millionaire solicitors, pawnbrokers, contested wills, illegitimate children and murder". She met historian David Nolan, who has written a history of Corballis House, where her granny was sent to stay; they subsequently discovered she was born out of wedlock.[5]
In the first episode of the second series Ryan Tubridy discovered he was a descendant of Edward III.[6] Geneticist Adam Rutherford criticised the series for misleading its viewers into thinking that such descent was rare, noting that "almost every Briton" was descended from Edward III.[7]
List of episodes
editFirst series
edit| No. | Featured celebrity | Original air date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Bird | 15 September 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
| 2 | Joe Duffy | 22 September 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
| 3 | Dana Rosemary Scallon | 29 September 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
| 4 | Ardal O'Hanlon | 6 October 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
| 5 | Pamela Flood | 13 October 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
| 6 | Linda Martin | 20 October 2008 | Outline (archive link) |
Second series
edit| No. | Featured celebrity | Original air date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Tubridy | 14 September 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
| 2 | Ivan Yates | 21 September 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
| 3 | Rosanna Davison | 28 September 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
| 4 | Diarmuid Gavin | 5 October 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
| 5 | Fionnula Flanagan | 12 October 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
| 6 | Simon Delaney | 19 October 2009 | Outline (archive link) |
Third series
edit| No. | Featured celebrity | Original air date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damien Dempsey | 9 September 2018 | |
| 2 | Pat Shortt | 16 September 2018 | |
| 3 | Samantha Power | 23 September 2018 | |
| 4 | Bertie Ahern | 30 September 2018 | |
| 5 | Laura Whitmore | 7 October 2018 | |
| 6 | Adrian Dunbar | 14 October 2018 |
Response
editThe first series was criticised for its attempts to mimic the original BBC version. The Irish Independent remarked that: "Our [the Irish nation] pool of talent is so small that the entire country knows exactly what Charlie Bird's lifestyle and personal circumstances are. He is an RTÉ "personality", to be wheeled out in each and every situation ... ad nauseam. He is meant to be a working journalist, not a personality star. It muddies the waters of credibility when supposedly serious journalists become personality acts".[8]
Just before the first episode was broadcast, the Evening Herald ironically compared RTÉ's "awkwardly titled" Where Was Your Family During the Famine? (also broadcast in 2008), in which celebrities traced their family histories back to the darkest period in Ireland's history, to the BBC version.[9]
Mention was also made of the high proportion of RTÉ employees involved in the series (Bird is a news reporter, Duffy a radio broadcaster, Flood a television presenter and Martin appears frequently on RTÉ), with a suggestion that the series ought to be renamed Who Do RTÉ Personalities Think They Are?[10]
References
edit- ^ "Who Do You Think You Are? begins on RTÉ One". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Credits
- ^ Kelly, Aoife (16 August 2018). "RTE's new schedule – Podge & Rodge return, Bertie Ahern does Who Do You Think You Are, and the Late Late goes to London". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "A Bermuda triangle of Bird family mysteries". Irish Independent. 14 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ "16 Blocks". Irish Independent. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
- ^ McBride, Caitlin (9 September 2009). "Revealed ... Tubridy's secret relation is Edward III". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ Rudgard, Olivia (27 June 2017). "It's not just Danny Dyer who is related to royalty – we all are, geneticist says". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "RTE should prepare to stretch the boundaries". Irish Independent. 14 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ "RTE cooks up an appetising drama". Evening Herald. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ "Cullen rightly plays Trump card". Irish Independent. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.