My Indian Tonic

Olivia Colman on how her ‘exciting’ ancestors have made her braver…

- Caren Clark

Who Do You Think You Are?

MONDAY / BBC1 / 9PM (TIMES VARY)

Olivia Colman has always assumed her ancestry was ‘fairly boring’ and that she came from solid English and Irish stock.

But in this week’s episode of BBC1’s hit genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? it turns out she couldn’t be more wrong!

The award-winning star of Broadchurch and The Night Manager is stunned when she traces her mother Mary’s remarkable family tree and uncovers a shocking marital scandal, solves a mystery involving her French roots and, most surprising of all, realises that she has Indian ancestry as she learns the moving story of her threetimes great-grandmother.

Here Olivia, 44, reveals how her amazing ancestors have inspired her to be braver…

What were you hoping to find in your family’s history?

I grew up in Norfolk and knew the Colmans were always there forever so I feel like that is my place, it’s in my bones and blood. But I didn’t really know where my mum’s family came from so there were lots of questions. I’m interested in the people that have gone before because there’s fragility to life. When you go, will you be forgotten? I didn’t know what happened in my family, but I wanted to remember their loves and losses.