David Walliams has discovered one of his ancestors worked as a travelling entertainer during filming for Who Do You Think You Are?
The actor and comedian features in the upcoming series of the BBC programme, which sees celebrities explore their family histories.
He learns that his great-great grandfather worked as an entertainer after becoming blind.
Walliams also uncovers a tragic story about his paternal great grandfather’s experiences after the Second World War.
He said he is “delighted to have taken part in this series”.
“I started off the journey knowing very little about my ancestry,” Walliams added.
“In making the programme I found out lots of family history I would never have learned of.
“I was pleased to discover that being an entertainer runs in the family.”
The series will also feature Jodie Whittaker, Liz Carr and Ruth Jones.
Whittaker said: “Who Do You Think You Are? took me on an incredible journey through some of my family history.
“I discovered people and events that I had no idea existed before this.”
The Doctor Who star learns about the reality surrounding a family myth about a sacrifice made by her great uncle during the Second World War.
During the series, Gavin And Stacey star Jones learns that her paternal grandfather held and important role in the Medical Aid Societies of South Wales, which helped to provide a model for the NHS.
She also learns about mariners on her mother’s side of the family who travelled the world.
Jones said filming the programme was “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had”.
She added: “I’ve probably been guilty of assuming people from by-gone generations were stuffy, two-dimensional and a bit dull.
“But my trip on Who Do You Think You Are? has proved the opposite to be true.
“I feel like I’ve got to know the real people behind the fading sepia photographs and it’s made me want to find out more.”
Carr discovers her ancestor’s role in an attempted murder, as well as her paternal grandfather’s experiences in the Navy.
She said: “Before doing Who Do You Think You Are? all I really knew about my ancestors was that they had died but now I know that they lived and how they lived.
“I like knowing that, I like knowing who they were and I feel very proud to be related to them.”
The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? begins on BBC One next month.
