Who Do You Think You Are? - Season 17

Doctor Who and Broadchurch actor Jodie Whittaker investigates her family history. On her dad's side, she looks into a romantic story she has been told about how her beloved grandmother Greta came to be given the middle name Verdun - also the name of a First World War battle fought shortly before Greta was born. The truth Jodie uncovers about Greta's eldest brother's sacrifice in that war is far more poignant than the family myth. On her mum's side, Jodie gets to the bottom of how her great-great-grandfather worked his way up from child labourer in a Yorkshire coal mine to mine owner, and how his sons kept the family's mines open during the biggest miners' strikes of the 1920s.

Actor, comedian, talent show judge and children's author David Walliams delves into his family history. First, he learns of his paternal great-grandfather's prolonged and traumatic experiences on the battlefields of the First World War. The damage to his mental health condemned him to a lifetime in what was then known as a lunatic asylum. On his mother's side, David uncovers the story of his great-great-grandfather, who was blind as the result of invasive eye surgery. David is amazed to find out that his ancestor became an entertainer - first a street musician and then a travelling showman, running fairground attractions with the help of his wife and children.

Actor and writer Ruth Jones confesses to a passion "to share the wonderful characters in Wales" and she finds several in her own family tree.

On her mum's side, Ruth discovers Welsh mariners who travelled the world. On her late dad's side, Ruth learns that her grandfather Henry Richard Jones was a leading figure in the Medical Aid Societies of South Wales, a forerunner of the NHS.

Ruth discovers how her granddad's work led him to lobby the Minister of Health Aneurin Bevan - a fellow Welshman who became known as the father of the NHS. Locally, Ruth's grandad was remembered for his devotion to his fellow men and women.

As Clarissa in Silent Witness actor Liz Carr was all about attention to detail. Likewise, Liz is delighted to get forensic about her own family history, in Who Do You Think You Are?

"I love crime, of course!" beams Liz, while investigating a rumour that an ancestor was involved in some sort of assault.

Liz soon uncovers the truth behind the rumour, discovering that her great-great-great grandfather was involved in an attempted murder in rural Northern Ireland in the 1850s.