Those were two that really moved me.

There's another thread on the same subject - just noticed this one after I'd left a comment on Brian on the other one. So to quote myself - Only followed the one line again but I loved the way he became so involved and weaving a story around all the characters. A real story teller. One of the best I've seen.

Is this the thread for 10 Years, 100 Shows?

Enjoyed Brian Blessed. It really was a simple story but it was made by Brian who was able to bring the characters to life. It went along at a good pace as he travelled up and down the country. I'm surprised that they went with Julie Walters as the first one as it really was quite boring over the full hour. In past that story would only have taken half the show.

So Brian thought his great great grandfather was randy having 13 children.

Relative of mine alive around the same time had 13. Seven with one wife, six with his second. His second wife was 42 years younger than him and he died aged 84 when his youngest was 3.

Nothing wrong with his equipment

Enjoyed this one. About the social aspect of things. Wonder if the brother who ran off managed to track his brother down in the time he was away and that's how they kept in touch.

Marvellous!

I enjoyed Brian's episode more than Julie's last week which I found a little dull. Brian's just showed how miserable peoples lives were when they were poor, and when the parents died followed by most of their kids it was very uplifting when the last kid was like...no I am not living like this and ran away and had a great life!

Didn't he get an position on the Coal boats, that wasn't the result of running away from the Workhouse was it?

IIRC he ran off from the workhouse and lived a sort of Artful Dodger type existance for a few months then was brought back to the workhouse for a while before being apprenticed out to the coal ships.
Could be that the wilfulness he showed in running off meant they decided to apprentice him out early I suppose.

Can't remember the age but I think it was about the age that you would expect home to be apprenticed out. The workhouse would want to get rid of their inmates to work or serve apprenticeships because they would no longer have to pay for their upkeep.

Really enjoy Brian's episode. Very much painted a picture of his relatives and seemed genuinely upset about what happened to his ancestors.

The highlight for me was seeing my old colleague Alison Kenney! Ah memories...

Found Brian boring and very OTT

I think watching Who Do You Think You Are?, can often change your opinion on the 'celebrity' taking part, was really disappointed in some of Julian Clary's attitude, and then ended up really liking both Jerry Springer and David Dickinson after seeing their episodes. David Baddiel's was really good, and I liked Bill Oddie's too.

Really loved Brian Blessed's episode but think he is great anyway.

Very interesting.

I didn't watch it because I couldn't stand the thought of an hour of Brian Blessed in full flow.....

Going into this episode, I knew what to expect of Brian's 'character' so that part wasn't too unexpected.

The story itself was decent. Jabez Blessed certainly had an eventful life - losing both his parents and sister at age 6, running away from a workhouse to then having 10 children and still marrying again after his wife's death.

It was not uncommon for someone to remarry soon after the loss of their wife, and often younger women. Just practicalities, they needed someone around the house and to look after the children. There were lots of spinsters who would welcome marriage.

Worked the other way around with my GGGM, in 1851 she was a pauper, soldier's widow with two small children. She was in her mid-30s and married a neighbour who was about 74. He died a few years later but it gave support for that time and perhaps she was left some money.

I watched the one with Brian Blessed earlier, I do like him he seems a great guy and grabs life by the balls!

I could tell it was a journey for him and the big man got emotional, we saw another side to his big shoutiness, for wont of a better made up word. I felt it was a great life Jabez made ensuring all his kids went through education, I could have watched another hour in honesty!

Jabez actually had thirteen children altogether. When they said that Jabez married again, I was expecting them to say that he had even more children with his second wife, but nothing was said about if he had more children or not.

There is at least one unseen clip on the magazine website.

http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazi...seen-footage-1

Jabez' second wife, Sabina Johnson was about 52 when they married in 1876, so no, he didn't have any children from his second marriage.

Jabez was buried on 23 June 1890 in Winterton (Lincs) churchyard.
Sabina died almost five months later, and was buried 8 November also in Winterton.

I wish they had included that clip it sets the scene more for where his search started. Thanks for posting it.

I think this programme is hitting the buffers. Tamzin Outhwaite getting weepy over her grandad being interned on the Isle of Man during the war is ludicrous. Sure, it probably wasn't great but it wasn't exactly Auschwitz. She is acting like she doesn't know anything at all about WW11

Yes and her nan was calling them Concentration Camps we did not put prisoners to death. They were Internment Camps.

Funnily enough, even with the tears, I'm finding her very cold. I would never have guessed she had Italian blood. And I really can't get my head round that she didn't know about the internment camps - I thought that was pretty well known.