Family History on TV this week

[Karen]

It's a good week for family history programmes on TV!

Tonight, ITV 9pm: Secrets from the Clink
1/2. The first of a two-part programme in which celebrities embark on an emotional journey to discover how their ancestors coped with serving time in Victorian prisons. Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman is shocked to learn his great-great-grandfather was assaulted by his own son, who was convicted and subjected to hard labour building docks and quarrying for stone. Comedian Johnny Vegas finds out how one of his forebears spent time behind bars for stealing, and that the man's alcoholic wife was a persistent offender. Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup hears the story of her great-great-grandfather, an entrepreneur who resorted to fraud when the economy crashed in the 1870s.

Tonight, BBC1 10.35pm: Who Do You Think You Are?
The stories of celebrities who have been on a tour of their ancestry, marking the return of Who Do You Think You Are? as the series celebrates its 10th birthday and approaches its 100th episode. Featuring contributions from favourites including Jeremy Paxman, Bruce Forsyth, Alexander Armstrong, Emilia Fox, Alistair McGowan, Boris Johnson, Ainsley Harriot and Natasha Kaplinsky, who uncovered experiences of forebears spanning a cross-section of life from the workhouse to a royal palace, and even a brothel.

Tomorrow, BBC1 9pm: Who Do You Think You Are?
1/10. New series. Bafta-winning actress Julie Walters, of Educating Rita, Mamma Mia! and Harry Potter fame, traces her roots back to Co Mayo in western Ireland, where her great-grandfather Anthony Clark was one of the first members of the Land League. The organisation was formed in 1879 and campaigned for more than 40 years for the rights of tenant farmers to own their own land.