Professor Turi King
Episodes
My Family's Secret: Gabriele's Story
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King talks to Gabriele Shaw about the difficulties she faced getting her biological father's name added to her birth certificate.
How Your Sex and Your Environment Affect Your Hearing - Professor Turi King
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King discusses the results of a scientific paper about the evolution of hearing, which explores the combined impact of biological and e...
DNA Family Secrets: What Happened to My Sister? Viv's Story
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Ireland during the 1940s, the stigma meant that most unmarried mothers had no option but to place their babies for adoption. 72-year-old Viv came o...
DNA Family Secrets: Can I Find My Father? Sarah's Story
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the last 50 years, the number of single parent households in the UK has almost quadrupled to 23%. 43-year-old Sarah never met here dad and came to ...
The Curious Case of Kaspar Hauser - Professor Turi King
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The mystery of Kaspar Hauser and whether he was the hereditary Prince of Baden is considered to be one of the greatest historical mysteries of the 19t...
DNA Family Secrets: Was I Lied to About My Mother's Death? Jean's Story
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
91-year-old Jean was evacuated in World War II. She never saw her mother again and was told that she died before the war ended. She appeared on series...
My Family’s Secret: Sir Paul Nurse
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Paul Nurse was in his 50s when he discovered that the person he thought was his sister was his mum and the couple he thought were his parents were...
How Chromosomes Get Their X Shape - Interview With Professor Daniel Panne
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Daniel Panne discusses his work looking at the structure of chromosomes.
DNA Family Secrets: Where Is My Father From? Matthew’s Story
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly a 100,000 people in Britain were brought up in foster care in the 1970s, 50-year-old Matthew was one of them. Although he knew his birth mother...
DNA Family Secrets: Did My Family Escape the Holocaust? Jackie’s Story
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jackie is one of over three million children orphaned during World War II, for nearly 60 years, he and his wife Lita have been searching for any infor...
DNA Family Secrets: Who Is My Sperm Donor Father? Mel’s Story
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over 6000 sperm donor babies were born in the UK in the 1970s. 47-year-old Mel, only found out as a teenager that she is one of them. Mel appeared on ...
HFEA: Proposed Changes to the UK Fertility Law - Professor Turi King
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Geneticist Professor Turi King shares her views on donor anonymity in response to the HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority) opening a ...
DNA Family Secrets: Do I Have a Secret Sister? Janet’s Story
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As well as having the ability to reveal our ancestry, one of the biggest surprises that comes from DNA testing, is the discovery of unknown family mem...
DNA Family Secrets: Who Is My Dad? Richard’s Story
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 1 in 12 children, in the 1970s, were raised by a single parent. 52-year-old Richard has always wanted to know the identity of his father and wo...
DNA Family Secrets: Is My Father a British Soldier? Clare’s Story
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like over a million of us in the UK, 38-year-old Clare had never met her father. She was told he was a British soldier stationed in Northern Ireland, ...
DNA Family Secrets: Where Was Our Birth Father From? The Triplets’ Story
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Triplets, David, Philip, and Peter were adopted when they were four years old and had never known the identity of their birth father. They hoped appea...
DNA Family Secrets: What Is My Ethnicity? Janine’s Story
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Janine has lived her entire life never knowing the identity or heritage of her birth father. Her white British mum always kept her true parentage a se...
A brief History of Sudeley Castle and Gardens: Interview With Derek Maddock
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King discusses the history of Sudeley Castle with it's archivist, Derek Maddock. Sudeley Castle remains the only private castle in Engl...
DNA Family Secrets: Do I Have Sperm Donor Siblings? Tink’s Story
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over 45,000 people in the UK are conceived through sperm donors. 25-year-old Tink, only found out as a teenager that she is one of them. Tink came to ...
DNA Test Kits Are Changing Donor-Conceived Families - Professor Turi King
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A UK law, passed on April 1 2005, means anyone conceived from a donated sperm, egg, or embryo, can find out the identity of their donor parent once th...
How Double Child-Murderer Colin Pitchfork Was Caught - Interview With DCS David Baker (Retired)
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King speaking with Detective Chief Superintendent David Baker (retired), about tracking down double child-murderer Colin Pitchfork. A c...
DNA Family Secrets: Who Is My Birth Mother? Margaret’s Story
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Around three-quarters of a million people in the UK are adopted, but before the law changed in 1975, most adoptees never knew the identity of their bi...
DNA Family Secrets: What Happened to My Father? Bill’s Story
22 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Around a million of us in the UK grow up without any contact with our fathers. 75-year-old Bill has never met his dad. During World War II 240,000 Afr...
The Genetics of Taste - Professor Turi King
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hands up who likes brussel sprouts? How are you with broccoli? I ask because we know that our genetic make-up goes some way to explaining whether you’...
We Are All Related to Royalty - Professor Turi King
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On an episode of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' the comedian, Josh Widdicombe, found out he was descended from King Edward I. Just how common is this bei...
DNA Family Secrets: Who Is My Biological Father? Richard‘s Story
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around 1 in 50 people do not have the biological father they think they have. 53-year-old Richard discovered he wasn’t blood related to the man who ...
The Princes in the Tower: Could Scientific Analysis Help Identify the Remains in Westminster Abbey?
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are the remains in the urn in Westminster Abbey really those of the Princes in the Tower? And how could scientific analysis help answer this question?...
The Sperm Donor‘s Dilemma - Professor Turi King
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King discusses the implications of wide spread use of DNA matching services and being a sperm donor or a sperm donor child.
Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys and the Discovery of DNA Fingerprinting
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the morning of Monday September 10th, 1984, Alec Jeffreys, an as yet little-known scientist was looking at a result of an experiment, he’d set ru...
How DNA Inheritance Works - Professor Turi King
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King discusses how 3 different parts of our DNA are inherited from our mothers and fathers.
The Genetic Analysis of King Richard III - Professor Turi King
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Turi King discusses the findings of the genetic and genealogical analysis in the King Richard III case. This includes the genealogical resea...