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Aussie celebs to trace family tree

Six Australian celebrities will trace their family roots in the local version of the genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are?

Cathy Freeman, Jack Thompson, Geoffrey Robertson, Kate Ceberano, Ita Buttrose and Dennis Commetti will learn more about their family history in the SBS show.

The UK series showed British celebs including Julian Clary, Stephen Fry and Jane Horrocks learning more about their ancestors, visiting historic places and experiencing quiet revelations as they traced their roots. It was a fascinating experiment.

Hopefully the local version will be equally enticing when it airs in December.

Press Release:

What mysteries are hidden in old family photographs? Can mouldy old documents reveal secrets, long forgotten by family members? What role does family history play in our daily lives? Can a person know who they really are?

Who Do You Think You Are? is a landmark SBS documentary series chronicling the social, ethnic and cultural evolution of our national identity through the personal family histories of six prominent Australians.

When the original Wall to Wall produced series screened on the BBC , it was a breakout success. In its fourth season the series was viewed by over 6.8million people, in the United Kingdom , and it inspired millions more to research their own family tree.

The season will commence on SBS television on Sunday, December 2 with six episodes from the UK series before the premiere of the six SBS commissioned Australian episodes beginning on Sunday, January 13, 2008.

Throughout the twelve episodes each celebrity embarks on a highly personal journey to discover their own family’s past and its role in who they are today. The SBS commissioned episodes follow six unique Australians as they look to their own roots to explain who they are and how this fits with their view of what it means to be Australian.

This series offers an alternative way of looking at the history of modern Australia – showing the development of a nation from six uniquely personal perspectives while allowing us to share their private stories. For this reason each celebrity has been chosen so that their journey unlocks a different theme in Australia ’s development as a nation.

“Every Australian has an intriguing genealogy that in one way or another has contributed to the history of our country. Who Do You Think You Are? offers a captivating personal look at the origins of Australians and Australia through the eyes of noted personalities. Film Australia , with Serendipity Productions in Sydney and Artemis International in Perth , are extremely proud to have produced this landmark series for SBS,” said Film Australia CEO Daryl Karp.

SBS Managing Director, Shaun Brown said, “SBS is proud to bring this extraordinary genealogical detective series to Australian audiences and to be part of such a successful phenomenon that has inspired millions of people in the UK to explore their family history.”

“I am delighted to announce that the Australian celebrities who will embark on the journey to trace their family tree and reveal the surprising, extraordinary and often moving stories of their family are…”

Jack Thompson – Actor and Living Legend
Geoffrey Robertson – QC and Human Rights Advocate
Ita Buttrose – Media personality and publishing pioneer
Catherine Freeman – Gold Medal Olympian
Kate Ceberano – Singer and entertainer
Dennis Cometti – Sporting Commentator Extraordinaire.

7 Responses

  1. The Who Do You Think You Are? season will commence on SBS Television on Sunday, December 2 with six episodes from the UK series before the premiere of the six SBS commissioned Australian episodes beginning on Sunday, January 13, 2008 and then following with a further six UK episodes from Sunday, February 24.

  2. Iwas really looking forward to watching this series cause i thought sbs was going to show David Tennant’s part, but sadly i dont think it is…. 🙁
    but the australian ones seem ok

  3. yeah it wasn’t their best episode but i still liked it. Anything that has shades of Margaret Bland’s “denim and lace” routine, such as Kath’s aboriginal dance piece, wins my vote 🙂

    sorry i know it’s off-topic! 😛

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