Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker revealed as descendent of Boston-area family

Jodie Whittaker on Who Do You Think You Are?. Picture: Wall to Wall Media Ltd, photographer: Stephen Perry

The 17th series of the popular BBC One programme, which involved celebrities tracing their family history, got under way yesterday (Monday, October 12) evening.

Early into the episode, Jodie – who hails from West Yorkshire – learns her paternal great-grandmother, Eliza Bedford, was born in Eastville.

This is based on the 1911 census, when Eliza was living in London at the time, married with children.

However, missing from the document was Eliza’s oldest child, John Walter – someone known to Jodie already as having lost his life in the First World War and inspired the middle-name of her paternal grandmother in tribute to his sacrifice.

To learn more about Eliza’s past and in particular John Walter, Jodie travels to Eastville.

“This is pretty flat,” she observes as she makes her way through the county.

Once in Eastville, she meets with a social historian at the village chapel and pores over historical documents that shed light on her family’s past.

You can see the episode on the BBC iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t575