9.1/1068 votes#1 - Josh Widdicombe
Season 18 Episode 1 - Aired 10/12/2021
Comedian Josh Widdicombe embarks on a rollercoaster ride through his extraordinary family history. After a less than promising start with an ancestor who was cut out of the family fortune, Josh is delighted to discover a courtier with very personal access to King Charles I. From there it’s a dizzying journey back to Elizabethan and Tudor nobility by way of a royal love triangle, through an incredible ancestral line that prompts Josh to ask the expert he meets, 'Be honest. As a historian, are you really jealous?' English
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.1/1077 votes#2 - Dame Judi Dench
Season 18 Episode 2 - Aired 10/19/2021
Shakespearean actor, movie star and national treasure Dame Judi Dench's journey begins with her father Reginald Dench, who never spoke of his experiences during the First World War, as she tries to find out how he won his gallantry medals. Judi’s investigations then take a truly epic turn, leading her to 16th-century Denmark and nobility. Judi also discovers, to her delight, some incredible Shakespearean links.
Director: N/A
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4.5/1063 votes#3 - Alex Scott
Season 18 Episode 3 - Aired 10/26/2021
Presenter and former footballer Alex Scott learns about her Jewish ancestry and travels to Jamaica for the first time in her life to find out about her great-great-grandmother.
Director: N/A
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8.1/1046 votes#4 - Joe Lycett
Season 18 Episode 4 - Aired 11/2/2021
Comedian and presenter Joe Lycett manages to find humour everywhere, but apart from his Edwardian great grandad – a member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes in Nottingham – Joe uncovers a darker family history. Joe finds out that his two-times-great grandfather Robert Wilkinson was a boy chimney sweep in the 1850s. Joining the Royal Marines, Robert travelled the world; but his involvement in razing villages in China following the Opium Wars leads to alcoholism and a breakdown.
Director: N/A
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5.8/1041 votes#5 - Pixie Lott
Season 18 Episode 5 - Aired 11/9/2021
Singer-songwriter and talent show judge Pixie Lott hopes to confirm a family story that she has Italian ancestry from Verona, but instead discovers ancestors battling poverty and hardship in London. On her dad’s side, Pixie learns of her great-grandfather’s harrowing and surprising experience in the First World War. And, wondering if she has any musical genes, Pixie is delighted to discover three generations of military musicians, whose legacy gives her an opportunity to sing with the band of the Household Cavalry.
Director: N/A
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5.8/1021 votes#6 - Joe Sugg
Season 18 Episode 6 - Aired 11/23/2021
YouTuber and actor Joe Sugg uncovers some incredible stories in his family tree, with a little help along the way from fellow social media star and big sister, Zoe. Joe, very aptly, discovers a great-great-great-grandfather who was involved in the earliest days of communications technology – in electrical telegraphs. Pushing further back, he finds seven-times-great-grandparents who fled religious persecution in France, and a goldsmith who survived the Great Fire of London.
Director: N/A
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7.4/1021 votes#7 - Ed Balls
Season 18 Episode 7 - Aired 11/30/2021
Ed Balls, former Labour politician, sequinned Strictly dancer and TV presenter, grew up in a family that wanted to make the world a better place. His mother Carolyn’s dementia means she can’t share their family history with him, so he sets out to discover what kind of characters his ancestors were. Rumours on his paternal side about a link to Nelson’s ship HMS Victory lead Ed to Portsmouth and the story of his great-great-great-grandfather William Dunbar, an assistant surgeon. But as he unravels Dunbar’s medical career, he unearths a dark history of abuse and horror at a Kent workhouse. On his mother Carolyn’s side, he feels a deep connection with Christopher Green, an agricultural labourer put on trial at Norwich Castle after he stood up to defend his livelihood and community.
Director: N/A
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The Best Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18
Every episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? Season 18!
A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.
Genres:DocumentaryFamily
Season 18 Ratings Summary
"Josh Widdicombe" is the best rated episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" season 18. It scored 9.1/10 based on 68 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/12/2021. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Dame Judi Dench".