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Behind the scenes of Find My Past the TV show: director’s cut

We’ve been chatting to Adam Donneky, producer and director of two episodes of Find My Past the TV show, to find out the view from behind the camera.

FMP: What was your role in the series? How did you do this?

Adam: I was one of five producer/directors involved in this series of Find My Past the TV show. I directed two of the 10 episodes looking at stories from the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940 and the Whitechapel murders of 1888, attributed to the infamous Jack the Ripper.

FMP: What was the most difficult thing you faced?

Adam: The greatest difficulty that I faced was selecting the three individuals for each episode as there were so many fascinating personal stories from both historical events.

FMP: What was your favourite moment?

Adam: Very difficult to select a favourite moment from the filming process as this series includes so many fascinating individuals. I think I would have to say that the most prestigious moment for me was working with the Dunkirk veterans. Their stories were so remarkable and their attitudes and sense of humour was such an inspiration. I have to thank both the Dunkirk Veterans Association and the Dunkirk Little Ships Association for making it all possible.

FMP: How do you think this series compares with other family history programmes, such as Who Do You Think You Are?

Adam: What I like about Find My Past the TV show is that it gives new insights into stories that we all think we already know.

FMP: What was it like contacting potential participants and how did they react?

Adam: All the participants in my shows found their involvement to be a really positive experience. It was very difficult to keep certain information secret until we had them on camera, but they really enjoyed the suspense of discovering new facts about their ancestors.

Find out more about Find My Past the TV show

Behind the scenes of Find My Past the TV show: director's cut

We’ve been chatting to Adam Donneky, producer and director of two episodes of Find My Past the TV show, to find out the view from behind the camera.

FMP: What was your role in the series? How did you do this?

Adam: I was one of five producer/directors involved in this series of Find My Past the TV show. I directed two of the 10 episodes looking at stories from the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940 and the Whitechapel murders of 1888, attributed to the infamous Jack the Ripper.

FMP: What was the most difficult thing you faced?

Adam: The greatest difficulty that I faced was selecting the three individuals for each episode as there were so many fascinating personal stories from both historical events.

FMP: What was your favourite moment?

Adam: Very difficult to select a favourite moment from the filming process as this series includes so many fascinating individuals. I think I would have to say that the most prestigious moment for me was working with the Dunkirk veterans. Their stories were so remarkable and their attitudes and sense of humour was such an inspiration. I have to thank both the Dunkirk Veterans Association and the Dunkirk Little Ships Association for making it all possible.

FMP: How do you think this series compares with other family history programmes, such as Who Do You Think You Are?

Adam: What I like about Find My Past the TV show is that it gives new insights into stories that we all think we already know.

FMP: What was it like contacting potential participants and how did they react?

Adam: All the participants in my shows found their involvement to be a really positive experience. It was very difficult to keep certain information secret until we had them on camera, but they really enjoyed the suspense of discovering new facts about their ancestors.

Find out more about Find My Past the TV show

Behind the scenes of Find My Past the TV show: Chris Hollins

We’ve been chatting exclusively to Chris Hollins about what it was like to present Find My Past the TV show. Chris tells us about his favourite moments and how presenting the series has encouraged him to research his own family tree.

FMP: Are you interested in history?

Chris: Very much. It was my favourite subject at school when I was a young lad thanks to a great teacher who told the most amazing stories. That’s what I really love about Find My Past the TV show: incredible moments in British history are re-told though the relatives of key figures. History is about moments but it’s also about how people react to these events. As a journalist, I think it’s always open to interpretation – nothing is cut and dry.

FMP: How do you think this series compares with other family history programmes, such as Who Do You Think You Are?

Chris: There are obvious comparisons with Who Do You think You Are? as we are both looking into family histories. Find My Past the TV show, however, follows the families of famous people who sometimes can have led ordinary lives. We follow incredible/famous events in history through the eyes of ordinary people; without fail the relatives are amazed by some of the extraordinary feats of their ancestors. We also go into more depth about a particular event/relative.

FMP: What was your favourite moment while making the series?

Chris: Undoubtedly meeting the veterans from Dunkirk. They say they are very ordinary people but they are far from it. I can’t possibly imagine what these men were facing during the lowest moments during WWII. They were frightened, just as I would have been, but they still ‘did their bit’ for the cause. It was a very humbling experience.

FMP: Which was your favourite episode and why?

Chris: That is a very tricky question. I have, and I’m not just making it up, enjoyed every single programme, for different reasons. Some because of the moment in history: Dunkirk, Battle of Britain and D-Day, others because of the individual stories: Jack the Ripper, Titanic and Suffragettes or because of the discussions that arose from our investigations: Firing Squad, Bounty and Royal Scandal. It’s too difficult!

FMP: Has presenting Find My Past the TV show encouraged you to look into your own family history?

Chris: Yes it has, but I’m not sure I want to, just in case I owe anybody any money or we have a shady past! I will definitely be looking into it very soon.

FMP: Do you have any ancestors that you’re proud of?

Chris: Yes of course. My father was, and always will be, my hero. He came from nothing to play football for England and with my mum, who I am also very proud of, gave us a great start of life. I also think about my granddad who fought in Africa and Italy during WWII.

FMP: If you could be connected to a major event in history, what would it be and why?

Chris: I have always been fascinated by Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire but that may test the findmypast.co.uk website a little too much! I would love to know what my granddad did during the war.

FMP: Are there any other questions you’d like to answer?

Chris: Where my family name comes from. I would love to know what they did for a living. They don’t have to have done anything incredible, but I love social history. I want to know why we are the way we are.

Find out more about Find My Past the TV show

Behind the scenes of Find My Past the TV show: D-Day

Robin Clarke was one of the participants in D-Day, the fourth episode of Find My Past the TV show. Robin’s grandfather, Oliver Boland, was the pilot of Glider 92 during D-Day. Here we ask Robin about her experiences of appearing on the show.

FMP: What was the most surprising or emotional moment for you?

Robin: The moment I heard my grandpa’s voice, because even though he was in my life, I have no recollection of him.

FMP: How has being involved in the programme affected you or your life?

Robin: It’s made me really appreciate my family. It has also made me want to document all our family photos, past and present, so I can share with my son to pass on through the family.

FMP: Are you proud of your ancestor’s role in this historical event?

Robin: I am very proud of my grandpa. It’s such a shame I didn’t get the chance to know him.

FMP: Do you feel you’ve got to know your ancestor better?

Robin: Yes I do, because now I talk about him to friends and family, sharing all the things I’ve learnt about him.

FMP: If you could meet your ancestor, face to face, what question would you ask them?

Robin: If I met him I would simply ask how it feels to have lived through a war.

FMP: How did you find out you were going to be in a TV programme about your family history? What was your reaction?

Robin: Findmypast.co.uk got in contact with my granny. It was my mum who told me about the plans. I decided that I would do it as I wanted to learn about grandpa and I knew it would make my granny happy. I also wanted to teach my son about our family history and the role that grandpa played in D-Day.

FMP: Has it sunk in that your ancestor was involved in such a momentous point in history?

Robin: I don’t feel that it has sunk in about what he has done. I’m so pleased I got to know him.

Read more about the D-Day episode

Find out more about Find My Past the TV show

Find My Past the TV show is coming soon

Find My Past the TV show is an exciting new 10-part series which unites ordinary members of the public with their ancestors.

Each week, we take three members of the public on a journey to discover how they are related to someone from a significant historical event, by searching the records on findmypast.co.uk. We follow each of them as they uncover who their ancestor is and the part they played in history, before uniting the participants to find out how they are connected.

The show is screened on Thursdays from 20 October 2011 at 9pm on the Yesterday channel, presented by Chris Hollins of BBC Breakfast and Strictly Come Dancing. Each Friday morning, you’ll be able to read all about the previous night’s episode, including which records were used to chart the participants’ family histories.

Find out more on our Find My Past TV show page