Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Cover image for Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Jun 01 2026
Magazine

Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

SARAH'S TOP TIP • Use AI to help read old wills but be aware that it can hallucinate

CONTRIBUTORS

Discover Guildford's workhouse

Letters

Who Do You Think You Are?

What's On

Eagerly awaited 1926 Irish census goes online • Rosemary Collins and Molly McGee report on the latest data releases and genealogy news

NEWS IN BRIEF

Ancestry adds Prerogative Court of York wills

CAN YOU HELP?

MPs call for urgent adoption apology

Debenhams archive saved

Ancestry adds Worcestershire court records

READ ALL ABOUT IT • Alan Crosby on the history of news, and what it meant to our ancestors

BREAK DOWN YOUR BRICK WALLS USING AI • Dr James Ransom reveals how AI can help you to solve the family history conundrums that are stopping your research in its tracks

Transcribing Difficult Handwriting • Decypher those unintelligable swirls and loops with the help of an AI tool

DATING PHOTOGRAPHS • AI models are trained on an immense mass of historic and cultural data, so are a great tool for dating photographs. Here's how to get the most accurate results about a family picture

Four AI Assistants For Family Historians • The latest models can do things that were impossible 12 months ago. You often get better results from a large, general model than an older, specialist one

Is It Worth Paying For Premium? • Find out whether the features you get with a Premium subscription are worth paying extra for

ZOE BALL • DJ and TV presenter

“YOU LOOK BACK AND THINK, WE ARE SO LUCKY” • Lauren Potts celebrates the imminent return of Who Do You Think You Are? to BBC One and reveals the first three celebrities to uncover their roots

BEHIND THE SCENES • We caught up with director Kathryn Ellinger (pictured right) to ask her what it was like working with Zoe Ball

AMY DOWDEN • Professional dancer

JOE SWASH • Actor and TV presenter

‘MY ANCESTOR SURVIVED THE TITANIC’ • When the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, Angela Young's great grandmother found herself in a lifeboat with Able Seaman Thomas Jones. She has written a book recounting their heroic story, she tells Claire Vaughan

Resources • Here are some of the resources that helped Angela's research

Settlement and Removal Records • Julie Kathleen Johnson explains how to use these vital Poor Law documents to research your forebears who fell on hard times

EXPERT PICKS • Julie recommends these essential online collections

Sir George Nicholls 1781-1865 • Discover the massive impact that one man had on the Poor Law

Settlement Examination, 1822 • This record is held by The London Archives (thelondonarchives.org) and available on Ancestry in the collection ‘London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records, 1698–1922’ (ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2651)

RESOURCES • Take your research further

Italy • These sites can kickstart your research into your Italian roots, says Jonathan Scott

Expert's Choice • Elaine Cordingley is the chair of the Anglo-Italian Family History Society

Go Further • More fantastic sites you can't afford to miss

Burke's Peerage • Anthony Adolph shares his expert advice for researching aristocratic ancestors with this invaluable collection of...

Formats

  • OverDrive Magazine

Languages

  • English