Who Do You Think You Are? - John Simpson - 10:00 pm Wednesday, May 20 on Really

About this Broadcast

John Simpson
Season 10, Episode 10

BBC world affairs editor John Simpson always thought his great-grandfather was Samuel F Cody, the Wild West entertainer who also achieved fame as the first person in Britain to conduct a powered flight. It was only later that he discovered his great-grandmother had run off with Cody, taking her children with her. John follows the trail of his adventurous relative and her life with the cowboy-turned-aviator. He also investigates what happened to the husband she left behind - John's real great-grandfather - a search that leads to a shocking discovery

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Education/Science/Factual Topics Family And Friends History

Did You Know..

John Simpson (Contributor)

Born: August 09, 1944 in London

Best Known For: Being one of Britain's best-loved reporters.

Early-life: John Cody Fidler-Simpson was born in Cleveleys, Lancashire, in 1946. He and his family later moved to Dunwich in Suffolk. He was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School, St Paul's School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1965 he appeared on University Challenge and a year later started work as a trainee sub-editor at BBC radio news. By 1970 he became a BBC reporter, and during his first day on the job, according to his autobiography, he angered the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Career: Simpson rose through the ranks at the BBC and became its political editor in 1980. A year later he was the anchor on The Nine O'Clock News and became diplomatic editor in 1982. Simpson also worked as a correspondent in South Africa, Brussels and Dublin. In 1988 he became BBC world affairs editor, and has presented the occasional current affairs programme Simpson's World. John has reported on some of the most historic events of the past 30 years, including the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the fall of Ceausescu, the 1991 Gulf War and the Kosovo War. He also famously reported from Afghanistan disguised in a woman's burqa.

Quote: 'We live in a country where people love to disapprove of others. It's one of the most depressing British characteristics'.

Trivia: His assorted awards have included a CBE, an International Emmy and three Baftas.

Cherie Lunghi (Narrator)

Born: April 04, 1952 in London

Best Known For: The Manageress and a series of coffee adverts.

Early-life: Cherie Mary Lunghi was born on April 4, 1952, in Nottingham, the daughter of an Italian and his English wife. She was raised in London by her mother and her aunts after her father returned to Italy. Cherie began acting as a child on radio and in TV and eventually studied at Homerton College, Cambridge. Her acting training came at the Arts Educational School and the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has also been keen on dancing, aerobics, horse-riding, painting and playing the piano from an early age.

Career: Lunghi started out on stage, but made her TV debut in a 1968 episode of the BBC's classic Sherlock Holmes series. She's worked steadily ever since on the small and big screens, cropping up in the likes of Edward & Mrs Simpson, Excalibur, Tales of the Unexpected, The Monocled Mutineer, The Mission, and Ellis Island. However, it was popular footballing drama The Manageress which made her a major TV star in 1989. Since then, Lunghi has appeared in the likes of The Buccaneers, A Question of Guilt, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Jack and Sarah, EastEnders, Cutting It, Midsomer Murders and Casualty 1906. She was a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2008.

Quote: 'It's intriguing to get your head around people who have evil intent. It's pretty complicated.'

Trivia: Lunghi has narrated Who Do You Think You Are?

Colette Flight (Series producer)

Helen Williamson (Director)