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The Best Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?

Every episode of Who Do You Think You Are? ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?!

The Best Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?

A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.
  1. Background image for Rory Bremner
    9.5/10(37 votes)

    #1 - Rory Bremner

    S6:E1

    In Holland and Germany, Rory Bremner delves into the wartime experiences of the father he didn't know very well.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Alistair McGowan
    9.4/10(42 votes)

    #2 - Alistair McGowan

    S4:E5

    Alistair McGowan explores his heritage from his father's side, investigating what 'Anglo-Indian' means by a journey to India.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Fiona Bruce
    9.4/10(38 votes)

    #3 - Fiona Bruce

    S6:E2

    Fiona Bruce discovers the sad truth behind her great-grandfather's mysterious death, and returns to her family's ancestral home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Mary Berry
    9.4/10(43 votes)

    #4 - Mary Berry

    S11:E6

    Bake Off star Mary Berry, still going strong at 79, believes she inherits her energy and drive from her father and sets off on a journey to find out more about his family. Along the way she discovers illegitimacy, bankruptcy, and even more astonishingly, a baker.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Liz Bonnin
    9.4/10(47 votes)

    #5 - Liz Bonnin

    S13:E3

    Wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin describes herself as 'a mongrel' - the result of her parents' lineages on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Martinique. In Trinidad, she goes in search of the first of her maternal ancestors to arrive on the island from India. Liz then heads to Martinique where her paternal ancestors are said to have owned plantation - and slaves. What she discovers is more complicated than she could have ever imagined.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Patsy Kensit
    9.3/10(48 votes)

    #6 - Patsy Kensit

    S5:E1

    Patsy's late father was a villain. Jimmy Kensit was deeply involved with the most notorious gangsters of 1960s London: the Krays and the Richardsons. Reggie Kray was even godfather to Patsy's brother. Apprehensively, Patsy embarked on an investigation into her father's murky past, to understand the roots of his criminality and to discover how far back 'the family trade' goes. Patsy met up with a criminologist who had unearthed a copy of her father’s criminal record, revealing the true extent of his crimes. She was then shocked to uncover documents in the National Archives that show her grandfather was also a prolific criminal. After more research, Patsy was at last relieved to discover that her great-grandfather, though impoverished, was an honest walking stick maker. Tracing her roots even further back, an amazing document in Goldsmith's Hall revealed how the Kensit family, once affluent artisans, first fell into terrible poverty. Ultimately Patsy made the emotional discovery that rather than descending from a long line of villains, one of her ancestors was a remarkable vicar who dedicated his life to helping the poor.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?

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  8. Background image for Rupert Everett
    9.3/10(49 votes)

    #7 - Rupert Everett

    S7:E2

    Rupert Everett’s varied acting career has involved starring in Hollywood films as diverse as My Best Friend’s Wedding, Shrek 2 and The Importance of Being Earnest. Rupert has a rigidly conservative background, and feels that much of his own life has been a reaction against it. Following the recent death of his father six months ago, he wants to investigate the paternal side of his family.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Charles Dance
    9.3/10(80 votes)

    #8 - Charles Dance

    S14:E1

    Actor Charles Dance has made his name playing aristocrats, including Tywin Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. But the upstairs world Charles inhabits on screen is nothing like his own background as his mum was an under house parlour maid. Charles wants to know if he comes from a long line of servants or if he can uncover some grander origins. He is also determined to learn about his dad, who died when Charles was four. Charles knows hardly anything about him, not even when he was born. Charles's search for information takes him to the other side of the world to meet close relatives he never knew he had.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for David Suchet
    9.2/10(52 votes)

    #9 - David Suchet

    S5:E6

    Confusion reigns in David Suchet's family history. Was his father's father German, Russian or Estonian? Was his name Suchedowitz, Suchet or Shoket? David’s mother's family is equally confusing. Was her grandfather really a French photographer? And why did another ancestor's ship sink off Norfolk? David travels across Europe hoping to find some answers.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Kevin Whately
    9.2/10(38 votes)

    #10 - Kevin Whately

    S6:E5

    Actor Kevin Whately discovers that his ancestors were amongst the richest and most powerful men of the 17th century.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Ruby Wax
    9.2/10(55 votes)

    #11 - Ruby Wax

    S14:E10

    Ruby Wax's Jewish parents fled Vienna and the Nazis for America in 1938. 'They took the war with them and brought it to our kitchen,' says the comedian and mental-health campaigner at the start of this remarkable episode. They raised their only daughter in a dramatically dysfunctional household - Ruby's father was volatile and her mother 'hysterical... screaming in the street.' Ruby wonders if her own mental illness had its origins in her upbringing and the trauma her parents went through, or whether it is in her family's genes. Ruby journeys to central Europe, where she learns about her parents' flight and the distressing fate of family who remained in Vienna during the war, and she makes a startling discovery about her great-aunt and great-grandmother, which is both harrowing and surprisingly affirming.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for John Hurt
    9.1/10(57 votes)

    #12 - John Hurt

    S4:E2

    John looks into his great grandmother's parentage.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Kate Humble
    9.1/10(38 votes)

    #13 - Kate Humble

    S6:E8

    TV presenter Kate Humble knows little about her family history. What she does know is that her paternal grandfather was a test pilot, and she believes her maternal grandfather ended up in Colditz. On the trail of her grandfather Bill Humble, who was a test pilot during the Second World War, Kate visits the RAF Museum. She is astonished to discover what a legend Bill was in flying circles, and is amazed to see his daredevil flying for herself in archive film held there.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Jason Donovan
    9.1/10(44 votes)

    #14 - Jason Donovan

    S7:E7

    Jason comes from showbiz parents who divorced when he was five. His British born father won custody and brought him up alone, but its Jason's mother's family line that holds the key to Jason's Australian heritage - up to now a complete mystery to him.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Annie Lennox
    9.1/10(47 votes)

    #15 - Annie Lennox

    S9:E4

    Eurythmics singer and political activist Annie Lennox, whose grandmother's father died when she was only three, knows little about this branch of the family. Annie's episode uncovers an extraordinarily dark tale of tangled family relationships blighted by illegitimacy and poverty. On her journey, Annie also discovers the humiliation her unmarried great, great grandmother suffered before the Scottish church.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Derek Jacobi
    9.1/10(54 votes)

    #16 - Derek Jacobi

    S12:E3

    Actor Derek Jacobi discovers that he is descended from a Huguenot fleeing persecution.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Jeremy Paxman
    9.0/10(49 votes)

    #17 - Jeremy Paxman

    S2:E1

    The stern host of BBC2's Newsnight searches for his roots.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Alexander Armstrong
    9.0/10(45 votes)

    #18 - Alexander Armstrong

    S7:E6

    Comedian Alexander Armstrong always knew his family background was likely to be privileged, but he's keen to find out exactly how posh he is...

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Celia Imrie
    9.0/10(42 votes)

    #19 - Celia Imrie

    S9:E8

    Actress Celia Imrie knows that she comes from a long line of aristocrats on her mother's side, but has always resisted finding out any more about her illustrious heritage; her fear is that they will turn out to be privileged and boring, but she is quickly proved very wrong. In a film that ranges from political intrigue to impotence, Celia traces her family back to the 17th century. She discovers an ancestor who broke all the rules and ended up in the Tower of London, and investigates the extraordinary political legacy of another ancestor, who was accused of plotting to kill King Charles II.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Brian Blessed
    9.0/10(53 votes)

    #20 - Brian Blessed

    S11:E2

    Actor Brian Blessed has always loved his unusual name but has no idea where his Blessed ancestors came from. Born in Yorkshire, he'd always assumed his family were northerners but, digging deeper, Brian discovers that his roots lie down south. Here he uncovers the story of his great-great-grandfather, Jabez Blessed - a tale of hardship, struggle and survival worthy of Oliver Twist.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for David Tennant
    8.9/10(96 votes)

    #21 - David Tennant

    S3:E4

    David's quest to discover his family take him to the Isle of Mull, and then on to Londonderry, to confront an unexpected side to his ancestors.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Natasha Kaplinsky
    8.9/10(44 votes)

    #22 - Natasha Kaplinsky

    S4:E1

    Natasha travels to Cape Town in search of information about her father's involvement with the anti-apartheid movement during the 1960s. Later, after researching a possible connection with King George the Third, she travels with her Australian cousin Benni to Belarus where some disturbing discoveries are made about the persecution of her Jewish ancestors.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Jodie Kidd
    8.9/10(48 votes)

    #23 - Jodie Kidd

    S5:E7

    Jodie has often wondered why none of her family ever talked about her mother's grandfather, Sir Rowland Hodge. Although she grew up with many stories about her other great-grandfather Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Rowland's past remains a mystery. Investigations in Newcastle and London soon reveal why, as Jodie uncovers a tale of scandal and political corruption. An exploration of Beaverbrook's ancestors takes her across the Atlantic to Colonial America and a connection to some of the first Puritan settlers.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Zoe Wanamaker
    8.9/10(50 votes)

    #24 - Zoe Wanamaker

    S6:E4

    Actress Zoe Wanamaker traces the roots of her family back to the Ukraine via America and the anti-communist witch-hunt that caused her father Sam to flee to the UK.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Alan Cumming
    8.9/10(59 votes)

    #25 - Alan Cumming

    S7:E9

    Award-winning actor and Broadway star Alan Cumming made his name acting in films such as Goldeneye and X-Men, but grew up in a small Scottish town. He tries to solve the mystery of his maternal grandfather, Thomas Darling. A career soldier who spent most of his life away from home serving in the army, he died, aged just 35, in mysterious circumstances in Malaysia.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Rory Bremner" is the best rated episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?". It scored 9.5/10 based on 37 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 2/2/2009. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Alistair McGowan".