TV Times – 27 July 2019

18 TV TIMES

O

ver four series of BBC2’s

Inside the Factory, Gregg

Wallace has discovered how

a wide range of products – from

baked beans and biscuits to tea bags

and trainers – are manufactured.

‘I’m amazed it ever got made! I

wish I’d been there when someone

said, “Let’s get a middle-aged bald

bloke to find out how jam’s made,”’

laughs Gregg, 54, as he tells TV Times

what’s coming up in series five...

CHERRY BAKEWELLS

Episode 1

Gregg heads to a bakery in Stoke-

on-Trent where 250,000 Bakewell

tarts are produced every day. ‘We ate

them as kids, and I still remember

the Mr Kipling adverts!’ says Gregg,

whose sweet tooth got the better of

him. ‘I picked one up off the line,

which is a cardinal sin!’

WA XED

JACKETS

Episode 2

Gregg visits a South

Shields clothing

The art of the t

N

aomie Harris is used to

dealing with shocks and

surprises as 007’s loyal right-

hand woman Eve Moneypenny in

the James Bond films.

But, when the London-born

Hollywood star, 42, calls TV Times

ahead of her episode of BBC1’s

Who Do You Think You Are?,

she tells us nothing could have

prepared her for the revelations

she discovered while researching

her Caribbean ancestry...

Why did the show appeal to you?

I was asked seven years ago to be

on it and I don’t think I was ready.

I’d never been interested in my

ancestry but when my mum

[Carmen Harris] gave me a DNA

kit as a present and I discovered I

was almost 50% Nigerian, it

sparked my interest,

so then I approached

the show!

You find a direct

African connection

through a maternal

ancestor, Elizabeth

Leevers; what was

that moment like?

Incredible! Beforehand I

said, ‘I’m not going to cry!’ But I

spent the whole time in tears. Even

though Elizabeth is my five-times

great-grandmother and is far

removed, it meant so much. It makes

you feel part of this chain in history.

You knew little about your dad

Brian Clarke’s family. Were you

nervous when you went on their

trail to Trinidad and Grenada?

I’ve never really had contact with

my father until about two years

ago. But I wasn’t nervous because

I went in openly. People say, ‘You

could discover skeletons in your

closet,’ but I just thought it’d be

an interesting journey.

It must have been quite

tough to learn that a

paternal forebear

supervised slaves,

especially as your

maternal ancestors

were slaves...

Being from the

Caribbean, you know

you’re involved in slavery

in some way but – it seems

naive now – I never thought that

my family would’ve been overseers,

so it was a huge shock. But it’s

a wonderful message that we’re

made up of a multitude of different

heritages, because you can’t be

racist when you’re a mixture of

so many things.

How did it feel to be reunited

with Dorothy Davies, a friend

of your maternal great-

grandmother Syreta?

It was super-emotional! I met her

as a baby when my grandfather

[Joscelyn Harris] took me to

Jamaica. Dorothy had pictures and

it brought back so many memories

of my grandfather and how close

we were. Unfortunately, he’s not

around any longer, so it was sad but

beautiful because I realised what

a huge impact he had on my life.

What will you take away from

doing this show?

Part of my family story is tragic

and involves poverty, slavery and

hardship. I feel gratitude for the

sacrifices made so that I could

have the privileges I’m experiencing

today and it makes

me appreciate them

more. I want to enjoy

life more because

my ancestors weren’t

able to, as their

circumstances were

hard. For their sake,

I want to have

more fun!

Caren Clark

WHO DO YOU

THINK YOU ARE?

IS PREVIEWED

ON PAGES 48-

‘I spent the whole

time in tears’

FACTUAL

Who Do You Think

Yo u A re?

MONDAY /BBC1 / 9PM

NEW FACTUAL

Inside the Factory

TUESDAY / BBC2 / 8PM

Hollywood star

Naomie Harris on

how her ancestors

changed her life

Memories:

With late

grandad

Joscelyn

Fruity: Gregg and

co-presenter

Cherry Healey