‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ has grown from a one-off series to a global phenomenon, and has been instrumental in making family history an accepted modern-day hobby. It’s hard to believe that the UK ‘Who Do You Think You Are” is now poised for its eighth series. It is a firm favourite with the viewers, regularly pulling in a British audience of 6 million – and many more from overseas.

The March 2010 issue of the BBC Who Do You Think You Are? magazine has a long article about how the whole thing started, including the connection to Billy Connolly.

Alex Graham, chief executive of Wall to Wall, producer of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ was there at the program’s inception, and admits that he had initially underestimated the ‘power of the document’ in relation to making celebrities cry when confronted with an original document or an original piece of evidence, which gives them a real sense of connection to the past.

‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ has been so successful that is has spawned many overseas versions, now becoming a global phenomenon.

The Wikipedia entry for Who Do You Think You are lists many overseas versions, as well as books of the same title. However the article in the Who Do You Think You Are magazine is more comprehensive listing the following:

America – set for first showing 5 Mar 2010 on NBC – 7 episodes
Australia – SBS channel first showed series 1 in Jan 2008; 12 episodes, 2 series. Series 3 commissioned, not in production
Canada – first shown Oct 2007 on CBC TV – 13 episodes
Denmark – DR channel has 6 episodes in production
Finland – program format is under option
Holland – NED2 channel series in production
Ireland – first shown in Sep 2008 on RTE; 11 episodes, 2 series
Israel – Gil Productions for Israel Broadcast Authority, transmits from 4 Feb – 6 episodes
Norway – NRK channel has 8 episodes in production
Poland – TVP1 channel showed a version called ‘Sekrety Rodzinne’ in Nov 2006
South Africa – First shown in May 2009; 12 episodes, 2 seasons – for SABC2
Sweden – SVT channel first showed ‘Vem Tror Du Att Du Är? in spring 2009; series 1, 6 episodes. Series 2 in production – 5 episodes

Below is a range of Who Do You Think You Are related products that we sell:
Who Do You Think You Are? Family Tree Maker Version 2008/17 – genealogy software $19.95
Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy: The Definitive Guide to Tracing Your Family History – hardcover book $64.95
Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History (Australian edition) – paperback $34.95
Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History (US edition) – hardcover $35.95
Who Do You Think You Are?: Trace Your Family History Back to the Tudors – hardcover $62.95