Who Do You Think You Are? - Andrew Lloyd Webber - 3:30 pm Thursday, September 10 on BBC Two England

About this Broadcast

Andrew Lloyd Webber
Season 20, Episode 1

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber knows he comes from a musical family, including virtuoso cellist brother Julian, but he is curious as to where his showbusiness genes and love of musical theatre come from. By following his mother's line, Andrew soon uncovers a certain Uncle Peregrine, who played a key role under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. On his father's side, Henry Simmonds was a missionary who dedicated his life to helping the poor and needy. Andrew is astonished to uncover stories that uncannily parallel his own life, including an ancestor with a famous cello-playing brother

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Education/Science/Factual Topics Family And Friends History

Did You Know..

Phil Davis (Narrator)

Born: July 30, 1953 in Grays, Essex

Best Known For: Bleak House.

Early-life: Born Philip Davis on 30 July, 1953, in Grays, Essex. His father worked in the local soap factory; his mother was a hospital cleaner. He enjoyed three seasons at the National Youth Theatre in his mid-teens, then landed a part in Barrie Keefe's play Gotcha about troubled teens, which later transitioned to TV, and he came to the attention of casting directors. He was then cast in cult film Quadrophenia.

Career: Davis's career took off and he played a huge range of roles throughout the 1980s and 90s. He was Prince John in the TV series Robin of Sherwood. He also took on Hollywood roles, starring in The Bounty, alongside Mel Gibson. In 2004 came Davis's much acclaimed performance in Vera Drake, the Oscar-nominated Mike Leigh film. He gained massive praise for his performance, and won the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards. TV roles have included major hits like Inspector Morse, Bleak House, Fields of Gold, Sherlock, North Square, Rose and Malony, White Teeth, Doctor Who and Beau Brummell, and he is also an accomplished director.

Quote: 'I just do it. It's like asking a painter about painting. They dip the brush and put it on the canvas. All I know is that if something isn't brilliant, there's no reason that you can't deliver it to the best of your ability.'

Trivia: In 1980, Davis had a brief spell as a music artist when he recorded the song Blown It for Elton John's The Rocket Record Company.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Contributor)

Born: March 22, 1948 in Kensington, London

Best Known For: His string of hit musicals.

Early-life: Born March 22, 1948, in South Kensington. His father was a composer and a professor at the Royal College of Music, his mother taught piano and his younger brother, Julian, is a cellist. Andrew credits his aunt with starting his interest in musical theatre. He began playing the violin at the age of three, and was writing songs by the time he was six. He attended Westminster School and went on to study history at Magdalen College, Oxford, before dropping out to concentrate on composing in collaboration with his friend, lyricist Tim Rice.

Career: Lloyd Webber's first musical with Rice, The Likes of Us, went unperformed for nearly 40 years, but their second effort, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was commissioned by a private school in 1968, became hugely successful. In 1970, the duo scored an even bigger hit with Jesus Christ Superstar. Since then, Lloyd Webber has co-written many more massively popular musicals, including Evita, Tell Me On a Sunday, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard. He's also a successful producer, co-wrote the UK's 2009 Eurovision entry, and has become a familiar TV face thanks to his various talent-search shows.

Quote: 'I don't want to rush into doing something just for the sake of doing it.'

Trivia: Away from the theatre, Lloyd Webber's famed for his art collection and was made an honorary life peer in 1997.

Laia Niubo (Producer)

Harvey Lilley (Director)

Victoria Bell (Series producer)

Colette Flight (Executive producer)

Jane Harris (Editor)