Category: Factual
& Arts TV
Date: 13.12.2004
Printable version
Following on from the success
of BBC TWO's critically-acclaimed Who Do You Think You Are?,
Nicola Moody, Commissioner for Documentaries & Contemporary Factual,
and Roly Keating, Controller of BBC TWO, have commissioned Wall to Wall
to make a second series of six one hour programmes.
Who Do You Think You Are? delves into the family history
of celebrities, tracing their ancestry and revealing secrets and surprises
from their pasts.
The series also gave viewers the tools to dig into their
own pasts and uncover the part their ancestors played in shaping the
nation of today.
Roly Keating, Controller, BBC TWO, said: "Who Do
You Think You Are? has had a fantastic impact and has really captured
the public's imagination.
"The cleverness of the programme is that it taps
into a popular pastime, brings unexpected subjects into the mainstream
and works on many levels - personal, social, historical.
"You never know what it will discover and we're
looking forward to lots more surprises."
Alex Graham, Chief Executive of Wall to Wall, added:
"Wall to Wall is delighted to be working with the BBC again on
another series of Who Do You Think You Are?
"It's the ambition of every producer to make a
programme that connects with so many people in so many different ways.
"We're very excited about the second series and
have already started the process of tracking down more familiar faces
with interesting tales to tell..."
The first series has proved to be a huge success with
viewers, attracting average audiences of around five million, the highest
figure for a series on BBC TWO this year.
The impact throughout the country has been huge, with
large numbers of enthusiasts tracing their own family trees.
Traffic to bbc.co.uk/history more than doubled in the
first week of broadcast, setting a new weekly record of 5.3 million
page impressions.
With more than 500 links to external websites, the Family
History section of bbc.co.uk/history is also responsible for a big upsurge
in activity on British genealogy websites, some of which also reported
record traffic.
There has also been a vast number of downloads of the
Record Sheets, which is evidence of how visitors to the site have been
inspired to get started on their research, and over 40,000 people attended
BBC local radio events over the weekend of 3 and 4 December.
Across eight episodes, just under half a million people
have pressed the red interactive button, with over two thirds of those
staying for three minutes. This is above the yearly average (61 per
cent).
The last programme in the series, featuring Vic Reeves,
goes out tomorrow night at 9.00pm.
