Trending Now: Who Do You Think You Are? season 23 confirms celebrity line-up – Fans React

The BBC has unveiled the cast for the upcoming series of Who Do You Think You Are?, featuring famous faces from all corners of the entertainment industry.

The next instalment of the genealogy programme will feature eight celebrities as they delve into their roots to discover their incredible family histories. Across each episode, the stars will uncover extraordinary stories of strength, love, tragedy, rebellion and resilience as they journey across the UK from London to Glasgow and even globally, travelling to Australia, Tasmania, Italy, India, the Bahamas and Kenya.

The line-up for an “unmissable” 23rd season includes Adeel Akhtar, Amy Dowden, Harriet Walter, Joe Swash, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Ruth Madeley, Toby Jones and Zoe Ball.

In the upcoming series, audiences will follow multi award-winning actor Adeel Akhtar as he traces his Indian-Kenyan roots to a sea voyage from Gujarat and stumbles on his ancestors’ pioneering role in the foundation of Nairobi.

Meanwhile, professional dancer Amy Dowden steps away from the dance floor to solve a family murder, with the investigation leading her to a farmhouse in West Wales and a valley named after her ancestor.

Olivier and Emmy award-winning actor Dame Harriet Walter uncovers a family member’s secret intelligence role during the Second World War, while Joe Swash journeys into his family history that takes him from Little Italy to south Italy.

For decorated athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, she explores her Bahamian roots in the Exuma Islands, tracing her family’s migration to Miami at a time of racial segregation and the terrifying rise of the Ku Klux Klan.

Elsewhere, Ruth Madeley unearths a long-buried family secret about an adoption, a mystery that requires DNA testing and meticulous genealogical detective work to uncover a lost ancestor.

Veteran stage and screen actor Toby Jones investigates a family rumour that leads him from the Theatre Royal in Margate to Meerut in North India, where his great-great-grandfather was stationed with the British Army.

Concluding this year’s line-up is TV and radio personality Zoe Ball, who explores her Scottish and Cornish roots and discovers a tale of hardship, tragedy and survival.

Simon Young, BBC head of commissioning, history, said: “This series never fails to astonish and surprise. And in all of the hidden histories it uncovers – aided by the generosity and openness of a simply exceptional cast – we can find a sample of the incredible richness and diversity that makes up modern Britain. Who Do You Think You Are? is social history that brings us all together.”

Colette Flight, executive producer for Wall to Wall Media, commented: “Who Do You Think You Are? returns with eight more of our best-loved celebrities investigating secrets and solving mysteries in their family trees.

“Travelling across the UK and the globe, we see their astonishment, delight, laughter and tears as they discover how the incredible stories of their ancestors have shaped their family, and them. Along the way they learn about the dramatic social forces and historical events that impacted their families, from Victorian silent prisons to the American civil rights movement, from Italian brigands to bankruptcy.”

Who Do You Think You Are? returns to BBC One and iPlayer this spring.

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