A Family of Strangers
Seriously...
BBC
4.1 • 885 Ratings
🗓️ 28 December 2021
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How a simple DNA test turned a world upside down, leading to profound questions of identity. When 71-year-old Philip was given a genetic testing kit for Christmas, he assumed he would stumble across an ancient line of nobility or a novel identity to latch onto. Instead, he found himself unravelling a mystery with more twists and turns than a spiralling strand of DNA. David Reid meets an extraordinary group of people who sent in DNA samples and tested negative to the question: “Who am I?” Join them on a moving, funny and thought-provoking journey as they dig through layers of family myth and secrecy to unearth the incredible story of their origins. Produced and presented by David Reid Editor: Hugh Levinson Production Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson Sound: Tom Brignell
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box. |
| 0:05.0 | The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from. |
| 0:09.0 | And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.0 | The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.5 | The IRA inmates who found a way. |
| 0:14.5 | I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path |
| 0:19.5 | through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history. |
| 0:25.0 | The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them. |
| 0:28.5 | Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.0 | BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:39.0 | Come on in and get comfy. |
| 0:42.0 | This is seriously from BBC Radio 4. on and wild imaginations. Get ready for something intriguing, uplifting and |
| 0:57.2 | seriously smart. The first day of Christmas Mike Chula gave to me. |
| 1:05.0 | At home DNA testing kits are becoming such a popular stocking filler. |
| 1:10.0 | Platforms like ancestry, my heritage, 23 and me, nudge up demand by slashing their prices in the run |
| 1:18.7 | up to Christmas. |
| 1:20.7 | Around 50 quid to plot your place on the genetic map of the world. |
| 1:25.0 | But what if the results you get back and not all that you bargained for? |
| 1:31.0 | Join me, David Reed, as I hear the stories of those who sent in saliva samples |
| 1:37.1 | and tested negative to the question, who am I? I tanned easily, dark curly hair, I think had some interest in what ethnic |
| 1:50.0 | background I might have somewhere. Why did I look more Mediterranean? |
| 1:55.2 | I'm making light of it now, but as I read the email, I started literally shaking, |
... |
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