Keira Knightley, Kit Harington among next to explore My Grandparents’ War for C4

Kit Harington in My Grandparents’ War

Channel 4 in the UK has commissioned more episodes of celebrity social history format My Grandparents’ War, with stars such as Keira Knightley, Kit Harington, Toby Jones and Emeli Sandé on board to explore their family stories.

In the series, which comes from Wonderhood Studios, celebrities look into their grandparents’ extraordinary stories from conflicts that shaped the 20th century.

This second season of My Grandparents’ War is produced in association with MyHeritage, a website that helps people discover their family history.

The show is distributed by All3Media International, which has already secured pre-sales to PBS in US, SBS in Australia and CBC in Canada.

Filmed in historic locations such as the Killing Fields of Kenya and the mountains of Monte Cassino in Italy, the show sees each star retrace their grandparents’ footsteps as they uncover the life-and-death decisions their family faced. The first season featured Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan.

Commissioning editor Madonna Benjamin said: “I’m delighted at the range of stories and calibre of talent involved in this series. As well as exploring fascinating moments in seminal historical periods, what this programme does like no other is show audiences a side of these A-list stars that we rarely see, sharing with us family stories and intimate histories that are both relatable and moving.”

The directors are Francis Hanly, Tom McCarthy and Erica Gornall, while Rebecca Fairbank is a senior producer across the series. The executive producers for Wonderhood Studios are Tom Anstiss and Samantha Anstiss.

Tom Anstiss said: “It’s such an honour to collaborate with Kit, Kiera, Emeli and Toby. They bring real emotional depth and compassion and deliver a fresh new insight into seismic events in social history.

“Our series is packed with jaw-dropping revelations and headline-grabbing stories. From the most controversial spying operation of the 20th century to the fight for independence in Africa, the stars’ authored films throw the audience into riveting untold stories of our recent history.”

Samantha Anstiss added: “The team have produced a beautifully composed series with celebrities who engage with a compelling curiosity and real emotional candour as they uncover the incredible stories behind the pivotal roles their grandparents played in seminal moments of history and reveal their deep reflections on the human cost of war and its impact on generations.”