''Empire's Children'' is a 2007 six-part history documentary narrated by Richard Armitage and created by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. Each episode follows a British celebrity as they trace their family history across the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

. The celebrities featured included actress

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On He ...

, director

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the L ...

, actress

Shobna Gulati Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966)www.shobnagulati.co.uk
Shobna Gulati official website is an English ...

, actor

Chris Bisson Christopher Paul Bisson (born 21 July 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the roles of Vikram Desai in ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2002), Kash Karib in '' Shameless'' (2004–2007, 2009), and Jai Sharma in ''Emmerdale'' (2009– ...

, comedian

Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in '' Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was bor ...

, and politician

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

. The show was produced by Wall to Wall and Illumina.

Release

The premiere of the first episode was watched by 1.9 million viewers and the final episode reached 1.1 million. A companion book for the documentary was published in 2007 called ''Empire’s Children: Trace Your Family History Across the World''.

Reception

According to one academic, the show can be viewed through the lens of the rise in

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

subject media during the 2000s. ''Empire's Children'' was the winner of the Y Design award's "community award" category at the

London Design Festival London Design Festival is a citywide design event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans CBE in 2003 and celebrated its 20th edition in September 2022. In an article by ...

. The show was also nominated by the Royal Television Society for their 2007 Innovation Award.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1070944 2000s British documentary television series 2007 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings Channel 4 documentary series Works about the British Empire