The actress behind EastEnders market stall holder Donna Yates discovers that he family tree is not entirely based in the East End after all.
She begins by looking into her paternal grandfather Harry, who took part in World War Two but never talked about his experiences. Hammond discovers the reason why is because in 1943 he was taken as a prisoner of war in Italy, not being released until 1945. She then goes on to see how he was able to recover from his experiences after the war had ended.
Afterwards Hammond investigates her mother’s side of the family, who were mainly working in the docks for several generations. She uncovers that a family dispute in a will tried to shame her 3 X great grandfather Richard for putting his uncle Joseph in an asylum – from this she later discovers that her family roots are not all based in London, but the family originally came from rural north Wales.
For me the most interesting part of the story was that involving the war and her POW grandfather, trying to understand the conditions he had to live under in a Nazi POW camp, as well as readjusting to society after being freed. While the other side of the family has some interesting moments, especially over the will, the end is not as exciting as other episodes. You get that feeling from Hammond herself as she proudly from the city, with the country not really being her sort of place.
This episode does sadly feel like a bit of a damp squib to end the series on – or at least it would have been if it were not for the fact that there is still one episode to air, covering Ruby Wax, but it has not yet been scheduled to be broadcast yet.
Who Do You Think You Are? is on BBC iPlayer
