The BEST episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? (AU)
Every episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (AU) ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? (AU)!
Well-known Australians play detective as they go in search of their family history, revealing secrets from the past. Taking us to all corners of Australia and the globe are six stories of individuals seeking to find the definitive answer to where they came from. Along the way secrets are uncovered and histories are revealed—from adultery and madness to children born out of wedlock and even the whiff of a right royal scandal—with each individual discovering that their ancestors form an integral part of not only their own identity, but that of the nation. Combining emotional and personal journeys with big-picture history, these inspiring and sometimes challenging stories remind us how Australians have come to be the people that we are today. Considering Australia’s multicultural background, this is a global story, with each celebrity tracing their ancestors around the world. They travel to the places where their forebears would have lived, loved and died, and learn about the hardships and hurdles their ancestors overcame. This is a fascinating chronicle of the social, ethnic and cultural evolution of Australia’s national identity.
#1 - Charlie Teo
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/24/2018
Internationally renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Charlie Teo has extended countless lives performing risky brain surgery on patients who have often been turned away by other doctors. In doing so, he's been ostracised by parts of the medical establishment. Searching out his family's past, Charlie Teo will find an ancestor who left an enduring landmark, another life extinguished too soon, and looking for his warrior blood, he'll come to see himself in a brand new light.
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#2 - Noni Hazlehurst
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/17/2018
Veteran performer, Noni Hazlehurst, goes in search of the secrets her parents held so tightly. This journey will be a revelation to Noni. She’ll come to understand the impact of war on her immediate family, and why she knows so little about her world-renowned performing ancestors.
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#3 - Dr Chris Brown
Season 13 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/12/2022
Popular vet and TV personality Dr Chris Brown solves a longstanding family mystery and, in the process, discovers a determined and gutsy character in the form of his maternal 3 x great grandmother, Dolean Gilmore. On the other side of his maternal family tree, Chris unearths his charismatic 3 x great grandfather, William Sedgley, whose life was a series of great highs and tremendous lows, culminating in an uplifting conclusion.
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#4 - Casey Donovan
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/28/2019
Singer Casey Donovan shot to fame at the tender age of 16 when she won ‘Australian Idol’. But her sudden rise to stardom raised complicated questions about Casey’s Aboriginal heritage. Now, at age 30, Casey is keen to learn about her Indigenous roots - but will she find a sense of belonging?
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#5 - Todd McKenney
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/22/2018
Perth born entertainer and performer Todd McKenney is keen to know where the McKenney name comes from and is on a quest to uncover traits passed down to him by his father’s forebears. On his maternal side, there is no doubt that Todd gets his dancing talent from his mother, Peta and his maternal grandmother. However, Todd is keen to discover an ancestor with a colourful past. Will Todd find what he’s looking for?
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#6 - Natalie Imbruglia
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/1/2018
Entertainer Natalie Imbruglia only knows the characters from her father's Italian heritage. She knows very little about her mother's Australian ancestors. On a quest for answers, Natalie Imbruglia unearths the hidden truths behind her Australian roots. She finds a tale of mystery and violence. And in her search for strong women.....discovers the men who left them behind.
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#7 - Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/21/2019
Australia’s favourite scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, is a qualified medical doctor, engineer, and physicist whose media career began in 1981. His weekly talkback hour has become a national institution, and he’s authored more than 40 books. Karl was two years old when he came to Australia with his family as refugees in 1950. He knows very little about his parents’ life before this, only that they met in a refugee camp in Sweden after World War Two. While Karl’s father told him many elaborate stories, his mother was very secretive.
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#8 - Ernie Dingo
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/29/2018
All his life, Ernie Dingo has been estranged from his father’s family, on account of feeling abandoned by his own father, Tom Pepper. Ernie is brought face to face with his father’s ancestors, including an English convict. Will his journey force Ernie to re-evaluate his perceptions about the past - and his relationships in the present? Meanwhile, Ernie’s relationship with his mother’s side of the family, has been completely different: he grew up wrapped in love and warmth from his mother Bessie and grandmother Ulie. But his grandfather Jimmy Dingo remained a mystery, and Ernie sets out to discover more about this enigmatic character.
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Season 11 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/16/2020
Comedian Denise Scott’s search to find the truth about a dark family secret brings surprising results, while her Dad’s family tree produces a highly unconventional ancestor. On her maternal side, she uncovers dark secrets, and closes a chapter on a long-standing family cover-up.
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#11 - Toni Collette
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/11/2015
Actor Toni Collette delves into the enigma of her grandparents and uncovers a tale of abandonment and tragedy, a secret wartime affair, and an unexpected ancestor. A DNA test serves only to deepen the mystery.
#13 - Simon Baker
Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/21/2022
Exploring his Australian ancestry, actor and director Simon Baker discovers his 3x great grandfather on his mother's side was an Irish orphan who became a pioneering eye surgeon and left an incredible legacy to this nation. On his father's side, Simon traces his ancestry to South Australia's earliest settlers and learns of the epic journey made by his 3x great grandmother as she follows her heart to forge a new future for herself and her children.
Watch Now:Amazon#14 - Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Season 12 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/27/2021
Singer and actor Natalie Bassingthwaighte says members of her maternal family always hold their cards close to their chest. As a result, Natalie knows little of her family history and has heard only whispers of the uncertain lineage of her beloved Grandmother Gwen. Investigating the truth behind Gwen’s ancestry, Natalie discovers a wellspring of half-truths and heartache. Searching for other secrets in her family’s past, she uncovers tales of murder, suicide and the enduring strength of a mother’s love, while, on her paternal side, Natalie investigates a rumour that an ancestor played piano for Dame Nellie Melba.
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Season 12 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/20/2021
Setting out to discover if a mysterious Spanish governess actually existed in her Mum’s family, Chris Bath finds instead an adventurer with an entrepreneurial spirit who wasn’t afraid to tread his own path. Chris ventures into country New South Wales and is shocked to discover she has German ancestry. Uncovering the life of her German ancestors, Chris finds solidarity in their mutual love of the land and is deeply moved by the tragic fate of her three times great grandfather.
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#17 - Lisa Wilkinson
Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/19/2020
Journalist and television personality, Lisa Wilkinson, is on a deeply personal quest to unearth the truth about her maternal ancestors. Lisa’s mother, Beryl, was born illegitimately, and right up until her recent death, had many unanswered questions about her identity. Lisa encounters her Irish three-times great grandmother, Eliza O’Brien, whose complex, troubled life has uncanny parallels with her own mother’s story. On her father’s side, Lisa travels to colourful India, where she discovers her two-times great grandmother, Ann Beech, whose life shifts from poverty to privilege and back again.
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#18 - John Jarratt
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/8/2018
Actor John Jarratt rose to fame playing quintessential Aussie characters, from his portrayal of Ned Kelly in the last outlaw, to the sinister Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek. While John's comfortable playing both factual and fictional characters onscreen, he's yet to sort fact from fiction in his own life. In search of the truth, John Jarratt finds himself on a rollercoaster ride through his family history. He discovers a family tragically torn apart. And the family feud that rocks him to his core.
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#21 - Tina Arena
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/12/2010
Singer Tina Arena has always wanted to find out more about where her Italian-born parents came from, a subject that has never really been talked about in her family. She is driven to find out the truth behind some family secrets and heads off to Sicily to explore her Italian roots and the tough reality of her grandparents’ childhoods.
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#22 - Christine Anu
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/18/2009
Singer Christine Anu's ancestry is from the Torres Straits Islands. She’d like to understand why music is so important in her life. Her journey takes her not only to the Torres Straits but to England where she discovers a heritage of music and culture, beyond her wildest dreams.
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#23 - Georgie Parker
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/2/2011
Georgie Parker has created some of the most memorable women in Australian television. The women in her own family are all big personalities and this is the puzzle she sets out to solve: where does that female strength come from?
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#24 - Ron Barassi
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/2009
Footy legend and latter day ‘Knight in Shining Armour’ Ron Barassi has always believed that actions speak louder than words. He embarks on a journey into his ancestry tracing the Barassi family line back to the Victorian Gold Rush and discovers a heart-rending tale of violence, tragedy and redemption.
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#25 - Maggie Beer
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/2009
Celebrity “Country Cook" Maggie Beer is probably best known for being half of the TV duo The Cook and The Chef, as well as for her famous Pheasant Farm Pate. Tonight she embarks on a journey into her ancestry discovering a convict bigamist with a penchant for very tall tales.
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