Professor Turi King

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 they reach adulthood. But thanks to at-home DNA testing, many donor-conceived people are already uncovering their biological origins, in what can be an emotionally difficult process.

Professor Turi King speaking with Detective Chief Superintendent David Baker (retired), about tracking down double child-murderer Colin Pitchfork. A case that made history for being the first criminal case, in which someone was proven to be innocent, on the basis of genetic evidence. Also, the first time that genetic evidence was used to convict somebody.

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 birth parents. Margaret was adopted when she was just six months old.

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 African American GIs were stationed in the UK, many had relationships with local women, which resulted in the birth of two thousand mixed-race babies. Bill is one of them.

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’ll be fine eating some foods, such as broccoli and brussel sprouts, that others find too bitter to nibble on.

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 being related to royalty. Is it some sort of celebrity thing or are we all related to royalty? Basically, the answer is yes. We’re all related to royalty, it’s simply a matter of degree. The stumbling block to proving it is finding the documentary evidence.

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 raised him and came to DNA Family Secrets seeking answers.

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?

Professor Turi King discusses the implications of wide spread use of DNA matching services and being a sperm donor or a sperm donor child.

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 running the week previous. He was trying to look at genetic variation between individuals as a way of looking at how diseases might run in families. But what he was about to discover, was a technique that would change the world.

Professor Turi King speaks with those involved in the discovery and its first use in a criminal investigation.