Who Do You Think You Are? New series

Wednesday, 5 September 2007

Episode One of Seven - Natasha Kaplinsky

The fourth series of Who Do You Think You Are? follows seven personalities as they embark on personal journeys of discovery and revelation.

The celebrities unravelling secrets and surprises about their roots include presenter Graham Norton, actor John Hurt, impersonator and actor Alistair McGowan, comedian and presenter Griff Rhys Jones, Olympian Matthew Pinsent and writer and presenter Carol Vorderman.

The first episode sees newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky journey into her family's roots and uncover amazing secrets and links to the past.

Natasha was born in Britain to South African parents. Although some of her childhood was spent in Kenya, she grew up with a strong sense of her British identity, yet limited knowledge about her family background.

Natasha and her brother have always known that their father, Raphie, had to leave South Africa in the Sixties because of his involvement in student anti-apartheid protests, and that he was not allowed back until the release of Nelson Mandela.

However, he has never talked in detail about what happened. In a similar way, Raphie knows very little about his own father's family history – only that they were Jewish, had lived in Eastern Europe and that some of his father's family had died in the Holocaust.

Natasha sets out on a compelling journey that firstly takes her to South Africa, where she investigates the circumstances that caused her father's exile, learns more about her paternal grandfather's life as an immigrant from Europe and comes across a family heirloom that may shed light on her mother's ancestors.

Her quest takes her from South Africa back to London, and then finally to Eastern Europe – where she discovers the origins and fates of her grandfather's family.

Image Copyright BBC