Gemma Collins - Why Do You Think You Are?

[LuluBlakey1]

I watched this expecting to turn it off after 10 minutes as I am usually so irritated by her.
Actually watched the whole thing and found her quite likeable at times. She was irritating but in an oddly endearing, genuine, way. She was gloriously awful but at the same time has a bit of nous about her, didn't mind being make-up free on camera for most of the programme, was incredibly badly dressed, could talk to anyone at all and get on with them. She was totally unsnobbish and it was an interesting, sad, story of women being judged and treated badly by men and society and tough lives.
Anyone else watch it?
Along with Olly Murs last week, it is the best of the last series which have been increasingly dull.

I watched it. I've no idea who she is but found it interesting. She is quite an unusual character, not the brightest spark. I'm guessing she is some sort of reality TV person.

I saw it - thought it was really good. I'm not interested in GC so didn't think I'd end up watching the whole programme but it was fascinating. A combination of Who Do You Think You Are and Long Lost Family.

Yes @zzplex , that's a good description. I would have liked to know what happened to her grandma-did she ever marry? Why did she die so young?

I think she came across as completely genuine and quite endearing. She's usually an instant turn off for me as hate that whole TOWIE celeb genre. I like Rose as well.

I wish wdytya could do Cliff Richard.

Why? I don't think he would make good TV. He is an odd character and always seems unaware of his oddness. Do you think he has an interesting background?

Sir Cliff Richard would not want the BBC digging up his past.

Oh, I know he'd never do it. But I think he'd be another Olivia Coleman or the other guy whose name completely escapes me now who discovered they had Indian heritage. Just interesting.

I watched it and my opinion of her totally changed. I really liked her and she certainly wasn’t ’up herself’ in anyway. I liked the way she was happy to appear with no makeup and her hair a bit messy.
A very sad story of her mothers childhood and the mother who she thought had abandoned her.
I agree, this series has been a bit dull, Paddy Mcguiness was an excellent episode along with Ollie Murs, Mel C’s one was very boring.

Might make interesting watching in a very uncomfortable way. John Hurt was a bit like that. He was so sure he came from Irish nobility and it turned out he didn't but was descended from someone who was a bit of a conman in Hull or something. He was very awkwardly devastated.

I thought they did?

I just see WDYTYA never did cliff richard. The Mandela affect for me!

Yes! That was the first episode of WDYTYA I ever saw, so I had no idea of the format, and it felt mad to me that this baseless family legend of Irish origins was so important to his sense of his own identity.

I agree - I thought i would switch off but it was very good. I think this has been a great series.

Poor old Michael Parkinson.
They asked him to be on wdytya and after some research told him his ancestry wasn’t interesting enough to make a tv programme.
I think his whole past was in Barnsley.

It is inevitable that different viewers will find different episodes of greater interest, people are very different in their tastes. A good thing about WDYTYA is that we see the more personal side of our ‘celebrities’. A great thing about WDYTYA is that it is as much about our social history as it is about the family tree of the ‘celebrity’, it tells us all about the sort of lives our own antecedents have lived, it shows us personal history that can never be taught at school, it’s about the lives of ordinary people, not kings, queens, aristocracy and politicians. Long may the show continue, with its good, and not so good bits – far better TV than 99.9% of what is showing the rest of the time.

Alistair McGowan was the one who discovered he had Indian heritage. I found that episode fascinating. He also thought he had Scottish ancestry but the McGowan name turned out to be Irish not Scottish.

I remember the John Hurt one as well. He was so grumpy about not having Irish heritage.

I thought the boy George one was really interesting

Oh, that’s interesting, because I assume this must happen all the time, whether because there’s no ‘story’ to be made of the antecedents, or the records simply don’t exist. I did wonder at what point producers decide ‘there’s no episode here’, and pull the plug. Quite awkward once the subject has signed on the dotted line, but obviously no sense either in researching someone’s ancestry on spec only to discover they aren’t remotely interested in doing the programme!

PaddyMcguinness was deathly dull

I enjoyed the Paddy McGuiness episode! Although I can't remember much about it now, other than he had to go a long way back to find an Irish connection.

I think I must like the "normal" people ones as they give an insight into working class people's lives.

Nothing will ever top Josh Widdecombe for me. I watch it at least once every 3 months. The ultimate Nepo baby 😂

I live near Epsom and as soon as they mentioned hospital here I knew GC’s grandma had been in a mental hospital. It’s interesting how her mother had not known that. I thought GC came across as very warn
and keen to maintain links with the side of the family she had not met before. It fizzled out a bit at the end.

The episode that sticks in my mind is the Judy Dench one which resulted in a trip to Denmark and a link with Shakespeare. She was absolutely delighted.

WHY do you think you are? Different show? I am about one series behind on WDYTYA, must catch up.

Sorry, but in the little I have seen of Gemma Collins she comes across as amazingly thick yet opinionated. She could still have an interesting family, I suppose