DNA Family Secrets (2021– ) User Reviews

series 2 episode 2

[allanmichael30 · 8/10 · 19 May 2022]

A really amazing story of how one mans story of being in a prison camp as a child and believing his father might have been a Nazi and finding out he was not of German descent and finding out he was not. It also found from his D. N. A a bloodline and relatives that lived near by in London.

Another story of a family that were musicians and had a father who was an American G. I in WW2 and roots in America and famous musician in blues music and family today.

Way too slow - get to the point!

[bbewnylorac · 6/10 · 15 August 2022]

This show has so much potential - the people on it are genuinely yearning to find answers to questions about their pasts. They have great stories to tell. Unfortunately, the producers and directors forget us, the audience. The show is way too drawn-out and repetitive. I.e. "John is looking for his father" repeated 10 times. And experts droning on about meaningless genetic information. All the experts waffle on way to extensively asking how people feel about not knowing their past, why they want to know, how they feel when they find someone, etc. Just tell the story and get on with it! Stacey Dooley, the host, tries hard but over-does the schmaltz. But the big issue is that the pace needs to be greatly speeded up. It just needs someone to review the show from a viewer's perspective.

Bit of a Mixed Bag

[rm-89666 · 6/10 · 4 March 2021]

To start with this is based on just the first episode so the series may hit its stride later on.

It is derivative of Long Lost Families but the hook is the public's interest in DNA analysis as advertised by many police dramas and websites such as ancestry.com. Ok, so maybe target something a little different than just finding lost relatives and that was done positively with the young mother's possible Huntington's disease.

What I was uneasy about was the emotional ambushing of the participants. In Long Lost Families both presenters were adopted themselves and have the empathy required for the people involved, with some news being delivered off camera. In this episode some surprising news was delivered directly on camera, with one person then having an immediate Zoom call with newly-found relatives that he clearly was not yet ready for.

Stacy has many gifts but her appearance dressed more as a teenager as opposed to her actual age is not IMHO the right approach. These folk need reassurance and sometimes comfort. She can do some really good stuff but here she does not seem the best fit. Then again that may well change for the better as this is based on just the first episode.

However the segment with the young family suffering the shadow of Huntington's disease looming over them was well done.

So 6 stars as there is potential here and I hope it improves.

Is this about the people or the presenters?

[ethoekstra · 4/10 · 5 December 2021]

Potentially interesting, but Dooley's manufactured presence is a total negative. Visually she is unnecessary, but the worst part is the smug "I know something you don't" that pervades every episode. It's so stilted, it's embarrassing.

Turi is almost as smug, but is maybe saved by at least some level of expertise.

If the focus of this program was the people, it would be great. But the focus is the presenters and that's so off-putting it's almost unwatchable.

What a waste of time.

[fhncgfgf · 1/10 · 17 May 2022]

No answers, reasonings or backstory to the findings - just whiteboard drawings of a family tree. What a waste of public funding and an hour of my time.