Chasing THE PAST

ANNE HEGERTY and SHAUN WALLACE on teaming up to trace their ancestries

- HANNAH DAVIES

DNA JOURNEY

NEW TUESDAY, 9 PM, ITV FACTUAL

Anne Hegerty and Shaun Wallace embark on an adventure neither of them will ever forget when they explore their family trees in a new series of ITV's DNA Journey.

The three-part genealogy road-trip show will see more pairs of celebrities - starting with Beat the Chasers stars Anne and Shaun, with Dancing on Ice judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean plus Corrie actors Rula Lenska and Dame Maureen Lipman taking part in future episodes - tracing their respective ancestries, visiting significant locations, learning about their forebears from historians and, thanks to DNA testing, meeting relatives they never knew existed.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Anne, 63, and Shaun, 61, tell TV Times how their journey of self-discovery, which took them from Scotland to Jamaica, has cemented their friendship...

Have you always wanted to trace your ancestry?

SHAUN Yes, although you don't often get an opportunity where an organisation like ITV is prepared to leave no stone unturned in terms of exploring your family tree.

Some people worry about what they'll find out. But from my perspective, the one thing you can't do is change the past, so it's nice to know about it, whatever it is!

The whole experience was a wonderful opportunity to find out how far back my family tree goes, and as things turned out, there was the perfect contrast between me and Anne, because we ended up being on two fascinating, although very different, DNA journeys.

Did you know anything about your family history before making the show?