- Season 2
- Season 1
The actor delves into the Second World War stories of his grandparents, Reggie and Doreen Heslewood. Doreen volunteered for the Entertainment National Service Association and risked her life travelling into warzones to lift the morale of British troops. She was separated from Reggie for years, as he fought the Japanese in the jungles of Burma and India. Toby learns from his family that Reggie came home suffering PTSD, while his grandmother never spoke about the war. Toby is determined to unearth the long-term impact war had on his family and uncovers family secrets that have been buried for decades.
The singer explores her grandparents' war stories, which span the Second World War, the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya, and the fight for independence in Zambia. Emeli reveals how the politics of empire divided countries and communities, and how the racism it generated still exists today. Emeli uncovers that her grandparents on her mum's side, Bob and Betty Wood, fought to uphold the British Empire. Meanwhile, her grandfather on her dad's side, Saka Sandé, was caught up in the struggle to overthrow it. With grandparents split across the fault lines, Emeli's film delivers an emotional insight into the human cost of the end of empire.
Actress Keira Knightley unearths a deeply moving story of resilience and love concerning her grandparents, Mac and Jan MacDonald. Mac was a sonar operator with the Royal Navy and Keira discovers how he and the crew of HMS Wolverine rescued hundreds of Irish Guards from a sinking ship in under 20 minutes. She also reveals how millions of women, including her grandmother Jan, volunteered to bolster Britain's war effort. Keira tries to comprehend how both her grandparents coped with the news that their younger brothers were reported missing in action.
Games of Thrones star Kit Harington's grandfather John Harington served alongside James Bond creator Ian Fleming in Naval Intelligence and was then recruited by MI5 and MI6. John ran one of most controversial spying operations of the 20th century and later worked with notorious Russian double agent Kim Philby. Kit's grandmother Lavender also worked for the British secret services. Kit also explores the stories of his maternal grandparents. Mick and Pippa Catesby fell in love during the Blitz just before Mick was sent to fight in Italy. Kit uncovers the operation on which Mick lost dozens of his closest comrades.
Carey Mulligan learns how her grandfather fought the Japanese in the final months of World War II, and lost his closest friends from a kamikaze attack at sea.
The actress discovers what happened to her grandfather, William, who served as a commanding officer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Kristin uncovers how he saved thousands of fellow soldiers at Dunkirk, and endured the horrors of the Russian Arctic convoys. Throughout the programme, Kristin meets the families of people her grandfather saved during the war, as well as veterans who served alongside him.
Actor and peace campaigner Mark Rylance finds out what happened to his grandfather Osmond Skinner during the Second World War, a man who spent almost four years as a Japanese prisoner of war. Mark uncovers how his grandfather bravely joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Force with no military training, before being shot on Christmas Day and taken as a prisoner of war. Throughout the programme, Rylance find his views on war tested as he uncovers the real and shocking truth about his grandfather's wartime experience.
In the first episode, actress Helena Bonham Carter goes in search of the truth behind her relatives' involvement in the war. Both sets of Helena's grandparents, one set in France and one set in England, were not conventional war heroes as they did not fight in any battles, but she discovers that they did save countless lives during the conflict.
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