Who Do You Think You Are? is back for a new season, and as always there is a whole host of celebrity names ready to delve back into their family history and see what secrets (and maybe even some scandal!) they can unearth.
Emily Smith, BBC Commissioning Editor for Documentaries, says: “We are very excited for this new series of Who Do You Think You Are? and for viewers to share in the extraordinary mix of personal celebrity histories taking us across the world, and which together reflect our rich collective history”.
Colette Flight, the Executive Producer for production company, Wall to Wall, says: “Who Do You Think You Are? is back with another line-up of Britain’s best-loved celebrities exploring their family histories across the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Jamaica. The incredible personal stories they unearth of their ancestors’ lives - from royal love triangles to labourers fighting for their rights, from Victorian child sweeps to battling fascists in London’s East end – reflect and illuminate all our collective history.”
When is Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18 on?
Who Do You Think You Are? is heading back to BBC1 in October, but an exact air date is yet to be announced. This season will consist of seven episodes.
Once each episode has aired on screen, it will then be available on BBC iPlayer if you need to catch up.
Which celebrities are taking part in Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18?
Ed Balls, Dame Judi Dench, Pixie Lott, Joe Lycett, Alex Scott, Joe Sugg, and Josh Widdicombe are all set to unravel their family history in this year's Who Do You Think You Are?.
Dame Judi Dench
Shakespearean actor, movie star and National Treasure, Dame Judi Dench unearths Danish roots and some intriguing Shakespearean connections in Who Do You Think You Are? starting with her father, Reginald - who never spoke of his experiences during the First World War. Travelling further into her family history, Judi’s investigations lead her to Denmark, where she discovers, to her delight, some incredible Shakespearean links.
Ed Balls
At first, it looks like former Labour Politician and presenter Ed Balls will uncover a heroic story when he looks into the life of an assistant ship’s surgeon, but the grim reality isn’t quite what he was hoping for. However, he uncovers a more inspiring story when investigating the life of an ancestor who lived through the agricultural depression of the 1820s.
Pixie Lott
Singer-songwriter Pixie Lott hopes to find the truth of the family story that she has Italian ancestry from Verona, but the reality isn’t quite what she was searching for. She also learns of her great grandfather’s harrowing experiences in the First World War, along with discovering musical genes on her mother’s side of the family.
Joe Lycett
Comedian and presenter Joe Lycett manages to find humour everywhere, but he discovers a darker family history as he finds out that his two-times-great grandfather was a boy chimney sweep in the 1850s who later joined the Royal Marines and travelled the world, but struggled to process his experiences.
Alex Scott
Pundit and former footballer Alex Scott learns about her Jewish and Jamaican heritage and ancestors that suffered tremendous hardships. Alex Scott explores the Jewish ancestry on her mother’s side and learns that her great-grandad faced down fascism in London’s East End in 1936. She travels to Jamaica to uncover history on the other side of the family and learns of tremendous hardship and suffering as well as some uncomfortable and upsetting history.
Joe Sugg
YouTuber, actor, and Strictly Come Dancing alumnus Joe Sugg discovers a remarkable family history as far back as the Great Fire of London. He also enlists help from his big sister and fellow YouTuber Zoe to explore their family tree where the pair discover a great-great-great-grandfather who was involved in the earliest days of communication by telegraph and ancestors who fled religious persecution in France.
Josh Widdicombe
Comedian Josh Widdicombe discovers an ancestor cut out of the family fortune and a courtier with intimate access to the King’s commode, whose story ends disastrously during the Civil War. From there it’s a dizzying journey back to Elizabethan and Tudor nobility culminating in an incredible ancestral line.
Is there a trailer for Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18?
Not yet, but as soon as one is released we will add it to this page.
