Katherine Ryan discovers her family's British roots in the upcoming episode of the BBC’s ancestry series, Who Do You Think You Are?
BBC One will air the latest instalment of the hit show tonight as the comedian digs deep into her heritage, with a few surprises along the way as the Canadian uncovers links to Dorset
Speaking about the show during a recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, Ryan said: “I’m so grateful. I’m such a fan of Who Do You Think You Are? I wanted to know about my ancestry.
“My dad’s Irish so I took for granted that I always knew his lineage, but I never really knew about my mother so we really followed that path in the family tree and I was interested in the women’s stories.”
Before you jump into the tonight’s episode, here’s all you need to know about Katherine Ryan’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
When will it air?
Who Do You Think You Are? with Katherine Ryan is on BBC One on Monday, August 19 at 9 pm.
What does she learn about heritage?
Ryan was disappointed to discover that her family's history in Canada went quite far back as she was hoping that they were not present during the nation’s controversial relationship with its indigenous people.
She explained during the breakfast television interview: “I really thought we hadn’t been in Canada very long, and I sort of hoped that we hadn’t been in Canada very long because I know what went on there with the slaughter of the indigenous people and all those awful, awful things.
“But we had been there quite a long time doing fishing and preaching and Methodist touring.”
However, through research, she was able to locate an English ancestor - a pub landlord - who lived in the Dorset village of Corfe Castle during the late 1770s.
Any more surprising facts?
Things took a pretty romantic turn when Ryan bumped into her first boyfriend Bobby Kootstra during her stay in her hometown of Sarnia while filming in Canada.
Speaking about the meeting, Ryan told the Mirror: “During filming I went for a night out with my sister and bumped into my first love Bobby – we dated for about a year when I was fifteen and then we split.”
The couple are now together again and are now happily living in the UK.
Who else will be on Who Do You Think You Are?
Following last week’s Kate Winslet episode, former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, comedian Paul Merton and ex-TOWIE star Mark Wright will also appear on the show.
Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, Bond star Naomie Harris, and comedian Jack Whitehall and his father Michael have already appeared in this current series.
