First four Who Do You Think You Are? episodes revealed

Wednesday 3 August, 2011
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One of the ID badges assigned to the former prisoners of war © Captive Memories

With just a week to go until the return of Who Do You Think You Are? to our TV screens, details of the opening set of episodes have been revealed – and we have a sneak preview of what to look forward to in the weeks ahead.

Kicking off next Wednesday, 10 August at 9pm on BBC One, the series gets underway with a fascinating episode featuring EastEnders icon June Brown. A world away from her on-screen role as Dot Cotton (now Branning), the classically-trained actor demonstrates a quirky sense of humour as she investigates her Jewish roots and a family myth concerning a bare-knuckle fighter. You can read more about June's story in the September issue of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, on sale from 9 August.

The following Wednesday, 17 August, sees Harry Potter author JK Rowling set off on a genealogical quest to learn more about her French ancestry. Her journey takes her to Paris during the late 19th century, for a magical combination of surprises – both unsettling and uplifting. For more on Jo's story, don't miss this week's issue of Radio Times, on sale now.

Olympic gold medal-winner and chair of the Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games Sebastian Coe is the subject of the third episode on Wednesday 24 August. Sebastian (now Lord) Coe discovers that he's not the only front-runner in his family, and unearths some challenging connections to illegitimacy and the sugar trade.

Rounding out the opening stretch of this year's packed series is an emotional instalment following the story of actor Larry Lamb on Wednesday, 31 August. Perhaps best known for his roles in EastEnders and Gavin and Stacey, Larry embarks on a journey to learn more about his mother's biological family.

You can read more about the later episodes in the series over on our online preview – and we'll have all the latest updates, plus location guides and exclusive unseen footage, in our free weekly email newsletter every Thursday after each episode has aired. Click here to find out more and sign up now...