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Who Do you Think You Are? New Series


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Old 07-08-2013, 23:35
Prince Monalulu
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He was the father of her fathers wife.
Her father's legal wife's father.
I must have missed the bit when his name was mentioned in the program.
Is there some sort of legal suit, injunction hanging over this fellas name?
I'd search Burke's Peerage for Sir Whatshisface, but I'm pretty sure there isn't one.
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Old 07-08-2013, 23:36
catsitter
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Sir Edward Wilshaw.
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Old 07-08-2013, 23:54
Stansfield
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Fabulous episode I had tears in my eyes through most of it.
Same here.

She seems really genuine. I was expecting her to be a bit of a diva.
Always liked Minnie Driver, from her Films to Interviews over the years....fascinating [resent] family history - one of the best I have seen.


Loved the Phone Call at the end.
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Old 08-08-2013, 00:21
Lisa.B
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I've got the same in my family tree, up in the Cotswolds in the 1850s. Three children with a woman he was married to while having two children with a woman he wasn't married to. Then he married the second woman straight after the first wife died.
Mine happened in Yorkshire. They got together around 1875 and it took until 1909 before he could class himself as a widower and finally make an honest woman of her and legitimize the 7 kids they'd had in the mean time and all given his surname as their middle name to avoid any doubts on the parentage!
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Old 08-08-2013, 00:30
lundavra
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I liked the way she took a plant and tin of biscuits when she visited her second cousin. Simple touch but I can't remember seeing anyone else doing that in previous programmes. Probably meant quite a lot to the cousin.
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Old 08-08-2013, 09:21
Leicester_Hunk
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I watched this, really enjoyed it. I always liked Minnie, now I am in love!
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Old 08-08-2013, 09:37
jtnorth
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I thought it was a particularly good episode, and agree she was lovely. I generally like the ones where they go further back, but this was very emotional, and I really felt that it meant something to her - it wasn't just to make a programme. I was in tears several times.

I think this every week, but I can't tell you how much I admire all the people they find who have become experts on a particular element of history. Like the man last night showing her the plane. I think they're wonderful.
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Old 08-08-2013, 09:54
NorfolkBird
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I found it fascinating how some people know so little about their immediate family. I don't think you need to necessarily go back many generations to find good and interesting stories.

My favourite one of the series so far. I thought Minnie was lovely.
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Old 08-08-2013, 10:04
Camino
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I found it fascinating how some people know so little about their immediate family. I don't think you need to necessarily go back many generations to find good and interesting stories.

My favourite one of the series so far. I thought Minnie was lovely.
totally agree with all this
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Old 08-08-2013, 10:59
Flukie
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Nothing to do with the programme as such, but she's got a lovely speaking voice!

And I agree with everyone else, she was lovely. Very warm and friendly to everyone she met as well.

It was moving the way she got so emotional about things she learnt. Her Dad throwing away his medal - which he definitely DID deserve - she was probably right when she said the reason he did it.

Never thought I'd see Stockton-On-Tees on this programme. That's not far from me!

Definitely one of THE best episodes of this entire programme.
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Old 08-08-2013, 11:16
snoweyowl
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I know little of Minnie Driver so the thing that struck me more than anything else was the revelation that her real name is Driver. I always thought the name was totally artificial, well you would wouldn't you.

No houses? I always think that seeing the houses that these people lived in tells you an awful lot about them. But there weren't any despite the fact that certainly knew where they were and they're probably still there.
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Old 08-08-2013, 12:34
lundavra
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I know little of Minnie Driver so the thing that struck me more than anything else was the revelation that her real name is Driver. I always thought the name was totally artificial, well you would wouldn't you.

No houses? I always think that seeing the houses that these people lived in tells you an awful lot about them. But there weren't any despite the fact that certainly knew where they were and they're probably still there.
With her Grandparents living on Teesside, they presumably died there, so if it was me I would have wanted to see their grave. Though of course we have no idea what happened off camera.
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Old 08-08-2013, 12:41
Dr. Otterbland
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The skipped generation thing was confusing till you got your head round it, she's only 43 yet her dad was of the generation that fought in the war and would be in his 90s if still alive.
As usual a meagre tale was stretched too far over an hour, but it's the best of the series so far and Minnie came across well.

Her kid hasn't inherited her good looks, he looks like a refugee from The Bash Street Kids, who's the daddy ?
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Old 08-08-2013, 13:29
i4u
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Was the programme a bit one sided?

Her father married in 1944 and had a wife and kids?

He meets Minnie's mother 18 years later in 1962, from what the mother said she was on the side lines for years, why he was still with his wife ?

When Minnie is 5, her father & mother split, did the mother get fed up waiting, does he stay with his wife?

Wouldn't his wife or any children possibly know more about the medal and him, than the mistress 20 years later, but the programme didn't seem to go there. And could there be other Drivers out there!
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Old 08-08-2013, 13:48
anyonefortennis
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Was the programme a bit one sided?

Her father married in 1944 and had a wife and kids?

He meets Minnie's mother 18 years later in 1962, from what the mother said she was on the side lines for years, why he was still with his wife ?

When Minnie is 5, her father & mother split, did the mother get fed up waiting, does he stay with his wife?

Wouldn't his wife or any children possibly know more about the medal and him, than the mistress 20 years later, but the programme didn't seem to go there. And could there be other Drivers out there!
I hardly think his legal wife or her family would want anything to do with this show. Especially considering her father is Sir whatshisface, founder of Cable and Wireless. They mentioned there were other Driver family members on the show last night.
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Old 08-08-2013, 14:04
valkay
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I hardly think his legal wife or her family would want anything to do with this show. Especially considering her father is Sir whatshisface, founder of Cable and Wireless. They mentioned there were other Driver family members on the show last night.
I wonder if Betty Driver of Coronation St is related?
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Old 08-08-2013, 15:02
lundavra
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The skipped generation thing was confusing till you got your head round it, she's only 43 yet her dad was of the generation that fought in the war and would be in his 90s if still alive.
As usual a meagre tale was stretched too far over an hour, but it's the best of the series so far and Minnie came across well.

Her kid hasn't inherited her good looks, he looks like a refugee from The Bash Street Kids, who's the daddy ?
That's a bit cruel on a small boy not yet five who I presume you don't know personally.

I certainly did not think they stretched it out too far, I found it a very interesting story.
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Old 08-08-2013, 15:08
anyonefortennis
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That's a bit cruel on a small boy not yet five who I presume you don't know personally.

I certainly did not think they stretched it out too far, I found it a very interesting story.
Agreed. Unnecessary comment. I thought he was very cute and a real character. I guess that poster doesn't have kids of their own.
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Old 08-08-2013, 15:46
nats18
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I don't know why but I expected to hate her episode but found it the most interesting and she seemed really affected by it. Some of them it looks as though their only doing it to get on tv or to get paid. I thought the age gap thing was really surprising until I realised theres basically the same in my own family.
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:00
valkay
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I think I can understand why her father threw his medal away. He won it right at the start of the war when such acts of heroism were unusual. But as the war progressed they would have become more commonplace amongst aircrews every night on raids over Germany. As he later became a Pilot Officer he would have seen this and thought that every serving crew member deserved a medal and probably felt unworthy. My own father in law survived the war as a Rear Gunner and saw many actions but he didn't get a DFM.
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:24
i4u
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I hardly think his legal wife or her family would want anything to do with this show. Especially considering her father is Sir whatshisface, founder of Cable and Wireless. They mentioned there were other Driver family members on the show last night.
I think Sir Wilshaw is dead.

The wife may be dead as well, if they had children they may have known more about the medal and what happened, possibly had family/wedding photos with Driver ancestors.

They may have known if Minnie's father had any other children by other women. He clearly remained in contact with Minnie but what about any children from his marriage?

I don't think the programme indicated in passing if there were children in the marriage.
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:28
i4u
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I think I can understand why her father threw his medal away. He won it right at the start of the war when such acts of heroism were unusual. But as the war progressed they would have become more commonplace amongst aircrews every night on raids over Germany. As he later became a Pilot Officer he would have seen this and thought that every serving crew member deserved a medal and probably felt unworthy. My own father in law survived the war as a Rear Gunner and saw many actions but he didn't get a DFM.
Oddly he was travelling in the late fifties with a UK passport issued in Germany could that mean he lived there for some time...another secret?
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:40
dome
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I think Sir Wilshaw is dead.

The wife may be dead as well, if they had children they may have known more about the medal and what happened, possibly had family/wedding photos with Driver ancestors.

They may have known if Minnie's father had any other children by other women. He clearly remained in contact with Minnie but what about any children from his marriage?

I don't think the programme indicated in passing if there were children in the marriage.
They had a daughter.
The wife knew nothing about Minnie and her older sister until a polo match at Windsor. She then divorced him.

Minnie's father I believe had a further child with his new wife.
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:40
Prince Monalulu
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Sir Edward Wilshaw.
Thanks for a straight answer.
How do people know this stuff about Minnie's family?
I'm guessing it's been covered in the tabloids or something.
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Old 08-08-2013, 18:44
anyonefortennis
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I think Sir Wilshaw is dead.

The wife may be dead as well, if they had children they may have known more about the medal and what happened, possibly had family/wedding photos with Driver ancestors.

They may have known if Minnie's father had any other children by other women. He clearly remained in contact with Minnie but what about any children from his marriage?

I don't think the programme indicated in passing if there were children in the marriage.
Well she's never met that side of the family. So it's highly unlikely they would want to meet their fathers mistresses daughter now, especially on a TV show.
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