Catch up TV

This episode is currently not available.

Series 20: 6. Emily Atack



Comedian and actor Emily Atack knows she is from a long line of larger-than-life entertainers. Her mum is singer, actor and comedian Kate Robbins and Paul McCartney is Emily’s grandmother’s cousin, making him Emily’s first cousin twice removed. Recalling fun days out with the McCartney family when she was little and how Grandad Mike turned every opportunity into a comedy show, Emily sets out to find out more about her showbiz genes.\n \nOn her mum’s side, Emily discovers how her grandparents Mike and Betty both worked at Butlin’s in the 50s – where Betty won a beauty contest. Both became Redcoats, entertaining thousands of guests every summer with music and comedy – the perfect outlet for Emily’s talented grandparents.\n \nEmily is astonished to read a family letter to her grandad from a teenage Paul McCartney, telling him about his new band and looking for showbiz advice. A visit to Uncle Mike, Paul’s brother, reveals even more entertaining stories about the McCartney family.\n\nInspired by the amazing McCartney musical tales, there’s only one place it makes sense to visit – Liverpool. While there, Emily discovers that her family’s musical roots go all the way back to the brass bands of industrial Britain. \n \nFollowing on from her musical discoveries in Liverpool, Emily then heads to Wrexham to find out more about her great-grandfather Ted Robbins’s involvement in the town’s football club. She soon learns he played a greater part in Welsh football than she had originally anticipated, and that he was considered a hero to Welsh football fans.\n\nEmily’s dad’s family line reveals even more showbiz glamour – her glamorous great-aunt Doreen Atack commanded huge audiences as a theatrical whistler. But before Emily’s ancestors developed their skills as entertainers, like so many living in northern towns, they worked in the mines.\n \nBy following the family line up to Wakefield, Emily uncovers why her great-grandfather Bill fought so hard to get his family away from the pits. At Nostell in Yorkshire, Emily discovers a story of hardship, dangerous working conditions and struggles with mental health. The lives of her great-great-grandparents Joseph and Emily Atack still resonate with Emily over 130 years later.

Source: BBC 1

Most recent episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 7. Will Young

Series 22: 7. Will Young

British pop icon, actor and activist Will Young goes in search of his family history. He’s concentrating on his father’s side of the family, as he never knew his gra ...

13-06-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 8. Diane Morgan

Series 22: 8. Diane Morgan

Actor, writer and comedian Diane Morgan – better known as the clueless historian Philomena Cunk – is unsettled to find herself having to genuinely go in search of th ...

10-06-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 6. Fred Sirieix

Series 22: 6. Fred Sirieix

TV personality Fred Sirieix is the nation’s favourite Frenchman, but he’s spent more of his life living in Britain than in France. Now, he’s heading back to Fr ...

06-06-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 5. Aisling Bea

Series 22: 5. Aisling Bea

Award-winning actor, screenwriter and comedian Aisling Bea is heavily pregnant and keen to find out about previous generations before she gives birth to the next.\n\nWith a stro ...

30-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 4. Layton Williams

Series 22: 4. Layton Williams

Actor and star of musical theatre Layton Williams is excited to be exploring his family history. He grew up in Bury with his mum and three of his siblings, but came to London ag ...

23-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 3. Ross Kemp

Series 22: 3. Ross Kemp

Actor Ross Kemp came to fame in the 1990s in EastEnders. More recently, he’s travelled to some of the most dangerous places in the world as an award-winning documentary pr ...

16-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 2. Mishal Husain

Series 22: 2. Mishal Husain

Mishal Husain, one of the country’s most respected journalists and broadcasters, is using her investigative skills to delve into her family history. Mishal has written a b ...

09-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 1. Andrew Garfield

Series 22: 1. Andrew Garfield

Hollywood star Andrew Garfield grew up between London and LA. He knows that his dad’s family are Jewish and came from Poland, but he doesn’t know exactly where they ...

02-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 18: 6. Joe Sugg

Series 18: 6. Joe Sugg

YouTuber and actor Joe Sugg uncovers some incredible stories in his family tree, with a little help along the way from fellow social media star and big sister, Zoe. Joe, very ap ...

24-03-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 8: 1. June Brown

Series 8: 1. June Brown

Celebrities trace their family trees to reveal the lives of their ancestors and explore major themes in British social history.\n\nNational treasure June Brown leads the way as ...

19-02-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Most popular episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 1. Andrew Garfield

Series 22: 1. Andrew Garfield

Hollywood star Andrew Garfield grew up between London and LA. He knows that his dad’s family are Jewish and came from Poland, but he doesn’t know exactly where they ...

02-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 20: 9. Lesley Manville

Series 20: 9. Lesley Manville

Actor Lesley Manville never knew much about her grandparents but wants to get to the bottom of family rumours surrounding her mum’s side of the family. Despite living in a ...

01-08-2023

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 19: 2. Richard Osman

Series 19: 2. Richard Osman

Quiz show presenter and crime writer Richard Osman delves into his Brighton roots and is astonished to discover that one of his ancestors turned amateur sleuth and ended up enta ...

03-08-2023

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 15: 2. Olivia Colman

Series 15: 2. Olivia Colman

Actress Olivia Colman claims to be 'the least adventurous person I know.' As for her ancestors, apart from a rumour that there was a Frenchwoman somewhere in her family tree, Ol ...

14-07-2021

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 21: 2. Paddy Mcguinness

Series 21: 2. Paddy Mcguinness

Presenter, actor and comedian Paddy McGuinness knows nothing about his family, except for the name of one of his grandparents. With a surname like McGuinness, he’s pretty ...

29-08-2024

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 4. Layton Williams

Series 22: 4. Layton Williams

Actor and star of musical theatre Layton Williams is excited to be exploring his family history. He grew up in Bury with his mum and three of his siblings, but came to London ag ...

23-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 2. Mishal Husain

Series 22: 2. Mishal Husain

Mishal Husain, one of the country’s most respected journalists and broadcasters, is using her investigative skills to delve into her family history. Mishal has written a b ...

09-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 5. Aisling Bea

Series 22: 5. Aisling Bea

Award-winning actor, screenwriter and comedian Aisling Bea is heavily pregnant and keen to find out about previous generations before she gives birth to the next.\n\nWith a stro ...

30-05-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 6. Fred Sirieix

Series 22: 6. Fred Sirieix

TV personality Fred Sirieix is the nation’s favourite Frenchman, but he’s spent more of his life living in Britain than in France. Now, he’s heading back to Fr ...

06-06-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? - Series 22: 7. Will Young

Series 22: 7. Will Young

British pop icon, actor and activist Will Young goes in search of his family history. He’s concentrating on his father’s side of the family, as he never knew his gra ...

13-06-2025

BBC 1

All episodes

BBC 1

© 2025 - Catchupplayer.co.uk