Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One
Comedian and Writer David Mitchell Traces his Roots
This episode in Series 7 of the BBC’s celebrity genealogy should have come with a pre-amble warning stating that it features no weeping or sentimentality but as it was centred around comedian David Mitchell it’s to be expected. Although he claimed that later on he may “be more analytical and emotional” he remained composed throughout. Good on him, as people don’t need to cry to show they care.
David Mitchell’s Sheep Farming Ancestors
Mitchell’s entire journey took place in the north of Scotland where one section of his family used to farm sheep in Ribighill before they eventually gave up the 30,000 acre land in 1933 due to financial constraints and international competition. It’s a typical Who Do You Think You Are? story where the ancestors are involved in some sort of manual labour in contrast to the celebs preened lifestyle.
Mitchell felt sad about business foundering he really couldn’t picture himself being a farmer. Same goes for everyone else too but in a good way as it would be a shame to lose him to agriculture.
John Forbes and the Isle of Skye
Things got really interesting when he followed the lead of a book his father owned called Place Names of Skye that was written a great grandfather Alexander Forbes. This led him to the Scottish island where he learned about Alexander’s father John who was a church minister and a well respected pillar of the society.
After meeting with a man from BBC Radio who had made a programme about John Forbes he discovered that Forbes had written a book about a group of local girls being trafficked to Manchester for cheap labour in a cotton mill. Mitchell was told that that because of Forbes’s campaigning and investigation some of the girls were eventually freed and his efforts made the national press. Again no tears, Mitchell just looks on quietly impressed.
That’s until he sees a church session book where Forbes acted as moderator and gets a reply to an online post from a distant cousin who has his will. Here he discovers his ancestor was a judgemental man who disliked his wife. Mitchell laughed at this revelation and the choice of words in the will. It’s moments like this that make this series worth watching at times.
Who Do You Think You Are? hokiness
But as ever with this series there were some really hokey scenes where Mitchell stumbles across a new contact for information. At one point he says “a lot of my family farm sheep” and the reply from a farmer was “you’re talking about the Mitchells”. Well obviously, as David Mitchell didn’t just turn up at the door unannounced like at a later point in the episode where he goes for a nose around a house John Forbes lived in.
Of course the whole thing is a little contrived given that BBC researchers look into the family history of celebrities in preparation for a news series but it would be nice to remove the façade that nobody would be fazed by a famous face and a camera crew knocking on their door.
Who Do You Think You Are? without the Crying
That general criticism aside, as it could be said about any episode of any series, this was a good outing that did well to focus away from crying and instead give a few facts with some nice shots of unspoilt countryside and the brilliant narration by Mark Strong. There was also one humorous scene where Mitchell was trying to connect to the internet to search for a book on the British library while in Skye but getting increasingly frustrated by the poor connection.
Perhaps the best insight came in the conclusion where Mitchell notes that on the whole he’s quite happy to be descended from middle-class people saying that “without middle-class there is no comedy”. Damn that man for being so right.
Who Do You Think You Are? is on BBC One Wednesdays at 9pm.
Isle of Skye
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