Presenter Laura Ansell introduces the first episode of her BBC Sounds series DNA Trail: The Promise.Billy from Brighton is in his 30s when he’s told by his mum Madeleine that the man who brought him up wasn't his ‘real’ dad.Armed with only his name: William Anderson and the fact he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Billy goes in search of his biological father. He tracks him down in the late 1970s but is rejected.
 
On his deathbed in 2006, Billy's then teenage daughter Laura and his wife Jayne make him a promise - to find Billy’s family and get a photo of his dad - something that Billy longed for his whole life.To listen to the rest of the series just search for DNA Trail on BBC Sounds.

Presenter Laura Ansell introduces the first episode of her BBC Sounds series DNA Trail: The Promise. Billy from Brighton is in his 30s when he’s told by his mum Madeleine that the man who brought him up wasn't his ‘real’ dad. Armed with only his name: William Anderson and the fact he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Billy goes in search of his biological father. He tracks him down in the late 1970s but is rejected. On his deathbed in 2006, Billy's then teenage daughter Laura and his wife Jayne make him a promise - to find Billy’s family and get a photo of his dad - something that Billy longed for his whole life. To listen to the rest of the series just search for DNA Trail on BBC Sounds.

Preview - DNA Trail: The Promise - Episode 1

Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. It holds the secrets of your true identity and promises to reveal untold family connections. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for?Across two series, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.In a brand new bonus episode, Searching – available on BBC Sounds from 22 February, 2025 – Jenny meets a family who are in a race against time to find the baby they believe was switched at birth.

Society & Culture

Documentary

Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. It holds the secrets of your true identity and promises to reveal untold family connections. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for? Across two series, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide. In a brand new bonus episode, Searching – available on BBC Sounds from 22 February, 2025 – Jenny meets a family who are in a race against time to find the baby they believe was switched at birth.

Share Preview - DNA Trail: The Promise - Episode 1

Sign up to save your podcasts

Preview - DNA Trail: The Promise - Episode 1

Preview - DNA Trail: The Promise - Episode 1

More shows like The Gift

File on 4 Investigates

Woman's Hour

Lives Less Ordinary

Desert Island Discs

Unreliable Witness | Storycast

Bed of Lies

Life Changing

The Lab Detective | Tortoise Investigates

Young Again

Intrigue

Answers for Claudia

Crime Next Door

The Pitcairn Trials

Strangers on a Bench

Stalked