* Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

The place to post news about genealogy products and services that might be of interest to other Family Historian users.
Post Reply
avatar
amuse
Platinum
Posts: 33
Joined: 25 Oct 2007 18:57
Family Historian: V7
Contact:

Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by amuse »

Didn't know where to postulate this, but it has been nagging at me ever since I watched the programme on Monday.

Granted that not all family rumours are true or accurate, but usually I find there is a grain of truth that has been stretched to make the person more important or to cover up a misdeed.

The Whitehall's ancestor was supposed to have died in a 'pony and trap acccident' whereas the horrible truth was a death from a sexually transmitted disease.

Has anyone else jumped to the possible theory that the 'pony and trap' was rhyming slang for clap?

OK there didn't appear to be a cockney connection, but euphamisms and rhyming slang abound around the world - my Australian friends freely use 'German Dancer' as a substitute for cancer.

Sorry! Just living up to my pseudonym of A.Muse
You don't know what you don't know, until you find out you didn't know.
avatar
Gowermick
Megastar
Posts: 1702
Joined: 13 Oct 2015 07:22
Family Historian: V7
Location: Swansea

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by Gowermick »

Haha, my thoughts were the same when I saw the programme. Rhyming slang does have its uses :D
Mike Loney

Website http://www.loney.tribalpages.com
http://www.mickloney.tribalpages.com
User avatar
gwilym'smum
Superstar
Posts: 302
Joined: 01 Feb 2016 16:28
Family Historian: V6.2
Location: South Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by gwilym'smum »

That is really interesting, not being from "down south" I hadn't thought of that.

What I did notice was that when a relative supposedly presents a certificate, which was presumably in their possession, it had been purchased around the time the programme was made.
Ann
Researching Mayer, Parr/Parr, Simcock, Beech and all related families
avatar
Gowermick
Megastar
Posts: 1702
Joined: 13 Oct 2015 07:22
Family Historian: V7
Location: Swansea

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by Gowermick »

Ann,
They never let the truth stand in the way of a good story. They regard us as gullible numpty’s most of the time :D
It does pay to read any documents you can see though, that is how I found out one of Len Goodman’s ancestors was sister to one of my direct ancestors. I spotted a familiar name and address on one of the certificates being looked at!
Mike Loney

Website http://www.loney.tribalpages.com
http://www.mickloney.tribalpages.com
User avatar
gwilym'smum
Superstar
Posts: 302
Joined: 01 Feb 2016 16:28
Family Historian: V6.2
Location: South Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by gwilym'smum »

Mike
That was a good spot.
Like you say it is all about a good story but it then makes it a story and reality becomes hidden. I have started to like A House Through Time much better.
Researching Mayer, Parr/Parr, Simcock, Beech and all related families
avatar
Gowermick
Megastar
Posts: 1702
Joined: 13 Oct 2015 07:22
Family Historian: V7
Location: Swansea

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by Gowermick »

That programme suffers the same. They see children missing from home on a census, living with grandparents, and assume they have taken over caring for the children. They can't see that as it is a snapshot for one night, the children may be just visiting their nanny and granddad!
Mike Loney

Website http://www.loney.tribalpages.com
http://www.mickloney.tribalpages.com
User avatar
gwilym'smum
Superstar
Posts: 302
Joined: 01 Feb 2016 16:28
Family Historian: V6.2
Location: South Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by gwilym'smum »

Mike
We will have to make a new programme "No assumptions Made" :D
Researching Mayer, Parr/Parr, Simcock, Beech and all related families
User avatar
mjashby
Megastar
Posts: 719
Joined: 23 Oct 2004 10:45
Family Historian: V7
Location: Yorkshire

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by mjashby »

Then, of course, there is the list of 'celebrities' whose WDYTYA programmes were abandoned because their ancestors were, after some initial research, considered to be too ordinary, boring and unworthy to justify a TV programme including:

- Eamon Holmes
- Michael Parkinson
- Cherie Blair
- Stephen Mangan

This perhaps reflects the fact that the programme makers have no interest whatsoever in explaining genuine approaches to family history research; and maximum interest in sloppy and lazy attempts to cash in on celebrity.

Mervyn
User avatar
ColeValleyGirl
Megastar
Posts: 5464
Joined: 28 Dec 2005 22:02
Family Historian: V7
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Contact:

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

WDYTYA is not a genealogy programme -- strange as it may seem to those of us who research Family History as a hobby, there is not an audience for programmes showing the (to most people, tedious) process of research. (It might have started off showing a little more of the process, but I suspect that audience research disabused them rapidly of the notion that that was a long-term recipe for success).

It's a "here are some family stories that might interest or entertain the general public, hung on the hook of a celebrity looking into their family tree". And boring stories about ag labs who didn't murder anyone, catch some nasty disease or participate in a major historical moment are never going to make the cut.
User avatar
MarkB
Diamond
Posts: 59
Joined: 31 Mar 2006 17:52
Family Historian: V5

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by MarkB »

Plenty of ag labs in my family, I'll never make it on to TV!
But where would we be without our ag labs?
User avatar
AdrianBruce
Megastar
Posts: 2090
Joined: 09 Aug 2003 21:02
Family Historian: V7
Location: South Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by AdrianBruce »

ColeValleyGirl wrote:... It might have started off showing a little more of the process, but I suspect that audience research disabused them rapidly of the notion that that was a long-term recipe for success. ...
It did - 5 minutes at the end of Adrian Chiles doing his everyman schtick and looking even more bored than usual. (That's not meant to be an insult to Mr. Chiles - no-one called Adrian can be all bad...)

As I recollect the programme makers said that there had been several attempts at genealogy programmes before - all had sunk without trace until these guys hit the winning formula of the star as a hook and social history, rather than family history.

I only really start muttering into my beard when the relatives or experts come up with (newly printed) certificates, when they've obviously been planted on them by the makers - just an initial little phrase like "Here's something you need to see..." would help to explain where they've come from. Though actually I think they've improved on that aspect a bit.
Adrian
avatar
SunnyLady
Famous
Posts: 112
Joined: 31 Mar 2006 18:43
Family Historian: V4

Re: Who Do You Think You Are - Whitehalls

Post by SunnyLady »

I have a vague memory of the first series having an add on programme with Nick Barrett, not on BBC1, showing ordinary mortals how to do their family history...
Post Reply