Radio Times: Review by:; Alison Graham

We like to impose our own characteristics upon our blameless ancestors. Richard Madeley certainly does as he explains what made him first fall for fiery Judy Finnegan when they were both in the Granada TV newsroom: “I’ve always been attracted to women who are feisty and stroppy and strong-minded.”

Richard lets us into this particular chamber of his heart when we learn that a female relative, an early settler in Nova Scotia, Canada, was a woman who knew her own mind and a was a bit of an activist.

Madeley is boundlessly enthusiastic and interested in absolutely everything he hears because he is so keen to contrast his “protected, cossetted, overly paid” life with those of his forebears.

Even what looks like the depths of winter in very snowy Nova Scotia and later, Rhode Island, fails to chill his spirit. It becomes a fascinating trip into the past, though Madeley does let himself down slightly at the end - admittedly only briefly - when he professes to feel guilt for something that happened 350 years ago. Not your fault, Richard, not your fault.

About this programme

8/10. Richard Madeley traces his Canadian heritage, travelling to remote Nova Scotia where his ancestors were some of the first settlers in the region. He discovers links with early American pioneers, including an ancestor who struck a blow for women's rights in Massachusetts 300 years before they were given the vote, and Ezekiel Woodward, who was involved in one of the bloodiest ever massacres of Native Americans.