100% English (2006)

18 November 2006 | Wall to Wall

The programme looks into the meaning of Englishness in the 21st century where eight people from very different backgrounds agreed to give a sample of their DNA to be submitted to a series of state-of-the-art tests that reveal where in the world their ancestors really came from.

Take eight people. All of them born in England. All of them white. All of them convinced they are 100% English; a Prime Minister's daughter, a stand-up comic, a trainee soldier, a country lady, a tabloid journalist, a woman who works in the fishing industry. Convince each of them to provide a sample of their DNA and submit it to a series of state-of-the-art tests that reveal where in the world they really come from — some of them will be in for a shock when they find out just how English they really are.

Presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon wrote So you think you're English?, a Telegraph article accompanying the programme:

“Lord Tebbit, Carol Thatcher and other volunteers thought they were pure Anglo Saxon — until they were DNA-tested. Andrew Graham-Dixon watched their jaws drop on discovering racial origins from Africa, the Middle East, even Mongolia. We are all mongrels now, he says” [continue reading]