Soul-Searching Nadine's Passage To India

The broadcaster puts her family ties to the test!

 

- Sophie Neville

As a child, Nadine Higgins was always enthralled by her granddad’s exotic tales of growing up in India during the British Raj. His parents were wealthy indigo plantation owners and he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle – but the legend most often regaled was that of the grisly death of Nadine’s great-great-grandfather.

“The story goes that he was killed by a tiger,” explains the broadcaster. “I had no idea if it was true or not, but it always seemed so adventurous and daring.”

Whispers in the family also suggested they might have Indian blood, but no-one really knew for sure. So when Nadine was asked to take part in TVNZ 1 genealogy show DNA Detectives, where local celebrities travel the globe to trace their family roots, she didn’t think twice.

“If people ever asked me about my ethnicity or family background, I couldn’t really answer them,” she tells. “I’d always been curious about the Indian link, so to have this chance was a huge privilege.”

What Nadine, 31, discovered in the episode, which screens on November 28, left her shocked and saddened at times – and she was often on the brink of tears as she learned about the trials and tribulations of her forebears.

She explains, “It made me realise I come from a long line of strong women who had to make tough decisions and that perhaps that’s actually in my DNA. Women in that era didn’t have many options. They had to make serious decisions for their survival.”