Choirmaster Gareth Malone's passion for singing is in his blood - his parents met singing in musicals, and Gareth grew up surrounded by music. But he wants to know how far back his 'ta-dah' gene goes, and sets off to find out more.

His investigations into his mother's side of the family take him to London's West End, where he finds his great-great-grandfather, a star of musical comedy, performing for the king, George V. But it doesn't stop there - two more generations back and Gareth's journey takes him to the heyday of music hall and a theatre impresario in Dublin.

Journalist Frank Gardner was very close to his late mother and is keen to know more about her side of the family. Frank's mother always told him that the family arrived in Britain with the Normans. Frank sets off to discover if there is any truth in the rumour. Along the way, he traces his family tree back to his ten times great-grandfather Sir Michael Stanhope - a knight of the Tudor court - who was accused of treason. But Frank's journey doesn't end there, and he is astonished to discover that his mother's suspicions are closer to the truth than he could ever have imagined.