DNA family secrets

[BLTLover]

Anyone watching? Them 2 defo look like brothers!

@PrincessTuna

I'll not be watching it again. I thought it was quite badly done. The "dna for dummies" explanation and drawing the most basic family tree to illustrate non-points.

I love long lost family. It has more heart.

I agree, plus it doesn’t have Stacey Dooley. She was bloody awful.

@Walkingtheplank

I wasnt clear - a child cant be tested for Huntingdons.

It was Mum who was tested, and she wasn't carrying the gene responsible, so Cian in the clear.

A child COULD be tested, but its rare that they are for all sorts of reasons. But it is possible.

@LadyEloise

If they knew who bearded guy's paternal grandmother was and there were five sons in the family, John being his supposed father surely there were cousins and uncles he could potentially meet ?

Probably. But I'm sure there are hundreds of reasons why someone wouldn't want to appear on TV in those circumstances.

I don't think the programme made the point that for a lot of people who are adopted or who find out later in life that their Dad isn't their Dad that they go through another rejection when they find their "real family" and their real family doesn't want to know.

I also read a DNA blog post yesterday talking about how we all joke about the dad being the milkman. It raised the issue of sexual assault and rape - it happened every bit as much in the past as it does now, with fewer options for women. Not every story is a child conceived in love.

RaspberryCoulis I understand that not everybody would like to appear on tv but I was surprised that it wasn't mentioned that there may well be other relatives.

A lot of things were glossed over though. It might have been better to take just one story and spend an hour on it rather than trying to cram 3 different storeis into the same programme.

I agree that this programme raised more questions than it answered.
Why did Brendan's dad (Raymond?) think he was Richard's dad?
Did Richard find any other cousins?

"Why did Brendon's dad ( Raymond ?) think he was Richard's dad ?

I'll give a guess 😉

Seriously though I know what you mean.
What led him to Richard ?

It was all very bitty.
How come Stacey said she couldn't touch/greet the GI Dad man when she met him in the pub (obviously covid) but then the next minute she was picking up baby Cian? 🤨

Really poorly done with a nasty format. The reveal of the pictures straight after the DNA results with Stacey nodding and smiling was horrendous and the "brothers" looked shell shocked.

It was all very 'Jeremy Kyle' show for me.

Need to see another picture of her mum because she looks as though she could be mixed race herself?

I thought the same Edith

How lovely is her dad

Yes, he was lovely. This would raise as many questions as it answers for me. I wonder if she could find any of her mum's old friends from 43 years ago to ask any questions?

I missed a bit (fell asleep). I'm not keen on it. Something very off about the editing. Turi doesn't seem to change her clothes (or her shoes, which are..unusual).

I can't make up my mind if this is supposed to be a serious documentary or not. And Dooley is seriously irritating and adds nothing.

I totally agree re Stacey “innit” Dooley.
She’s making it unwatchable for me.

I enjoyed this week's. Last week I felt uncomfortable with the brothers not being brothers. It just seemed a bit awkward. Also occasionally its better not to rake up the past. If my husband said he had a long lost son who was 50 years and had lived his life believing the man who brought him up was his father, I'd tell him not to go there.

I still think it's all presented as too easy. Yes DNA gives you facts, undeniably true. But as with the case of Margaret who discovered her parents were Irish, it depends on other people testing.

Not everyone wants a DNA test. Not everyone is interested in finding out about family history. Many people would think that if their mum had kept having a child secret for 60 years then there might be a reason and wish to respect that. The show very much presents it as "test X, Y and Z and et voila, here's your family".

I've done my DNA. My family obviously aren't that interested in DNA testing as my matches are very distant and go back to my great great grandparents. 3rd cousins only. On my mum's side of the family, the matches are even further away. This was mentioned briefly in the story about the lady wishing to know about her ethnicity, that some groups are more interested in testing than others.

But I don't like the "DNA is the key" to everything approach. It's a tool, but not the be all and end all.

(And I don't like Stacey either, innit).

I much preferred Ant and Dec meeting their DNA cousins to this programme.

I was very relieved that the woman who had the test for Huntingdon’s was negative, but what if it had been positive, 50% chance, how devastating to have that on camera.

Stacey Dooley is almost unwatchable. Her accent is horrendous to listen to, and I'm saying that as someone who has a strong estuary accent.

That was really awkward with the brothers, and Brendan suddenly becoming a spare part around the table when Stacey pulled out the photos.

Did anyone watch last night's episode with the triplets ?
Extraordinary that they were living in the area where their unknown father was from. They had tracked down a first cousin who didn't want to pursue the relationship. How sad. They might change their mind and do it off screen. 🤞
Hopefully they can get more information about other relatives.
Their early years were tough losing their Mum, a single mother when they were 2.
So glad the lovely wee boy is able to get the gene therapy.

Don't like this programme at all. It's exploitative and the presenter's voice is like chalk on a blackboard. Not good. On the other hand, the ITV version Ant n Dec, Freddie Flintoff n Jamie Redknapp, more to come, surprised me by being cheerful and entertaining. I would recommend it.

Yeah, I’ve already commented that I find SD unwatchable.
I’m all for diversity, but her accent is appalling, she adds nothing, and is just hugely irritating.
Really enjoyed the ITV show though.

It's not so much her accent but the pitch of her voice. Really harsh. she could have that trained out without losing her accent. Started to listen to a podcast yesterday and had to switch off. The broadcaster, an American woman, had a voice with the same grating effect on nerves.