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There is a story hidden in the past of each of us (as we know here on Family History UK). It is usually one which reveals how closely connected we are to each other. As Who Do You Think You Are? shows, there is no better antidote to snobbery and racism than genealogy.

The second series of the welcome BBC1 series of Who do you think you are last week showed the actress Jane Horrocks, who found that she was related to the man who founded one of the richest cotton mills in 19th century Lancashire. Some of her other ancestors worked in the same mills - but at some of the dirtiest and poorest-paid jobs around. Jane also discovered a brother (to here great grandmother - Sarah) who had apparently emigrated to Australia in 1910. He later sent an opal gem to the other side of the world as a gift to his niece on her 21st birthday.

This second series features the following genealogy celebrities:

• Jeremy Paxman
• Sheila Hancock
• Stephen Fry
• Julian Clary
• Jane Horrocks
• Gurinder Chadha
  

The book	Heroes & Villains	Family Tree Maker