Stern & Wild filmmaker’s celebrity family history show is back

Congratulations to new Stern & Wild client Iain “Thompy” Thompson whose fascinating series DNA Journey returned to ITV last week with an episode featuring Cold Feet co-stars Fay Ripley and Hermione Norris.

Each episode of the popular series follows a pair of celebrity friends or relatives as they explore their family histories through a combination of DNA testing and historical research, sometimes uncovering extraordinary secrets along the way. The latest instalment reveals Fay has a connection to royalty and some fellow performers in her family tree, while Hermione discovers her family descends from County Durham miners, a complete reverse from the characters they played in the hit 90s comedy drama.

DNA Journey first aired in 2019, with a one-off special featuring Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. The current run includes the final three episodes of Series 5; the next two instalments will feature comedians Jo Brand and Julian Clary and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! friends Sam Thompson and Marvin Humes.

The series is produced for ITV by Voltage TV, Ant & Dec’s production company Mitre Studios and genealogy platform Ancestry. It was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning, ITV and Louise Major, Commissioning Editor, ITV. Thompy was one of the show’s creators and has been a Director on all five seasons. He is also one of the shows Exec Producers alongside Kathleen Larkin and Sanjay Singhal.  

It airs on ITV1 on Thursdays at 9.00pm and is available to stream on ITVX.

Fay Ripley and Hermione Norris. © ITV