The road map for the wildest ride in our lives is inside us, thanks to our DNA. So would you be brave enough to discover where it leads? 12 NZers have, and they're about to find out what really runs in their blood. Captions by Ngaio Abrahamson. Edited by Amy Park. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 Foodie Ray McVinnie and journalist Jack Tame are about to find out that they both have colourful ancestors who preferred exotic climes. Of course, the burning question is ` how are we related? You look a little shell-shocked. I just` It's so` It's cool. Adventurous globetrotter and foreign correspondent Jack Tame has submitted to DNA testing in a bid to discover what runs in his blood. Now, Jack's cool, calm and collected when he's covering the breaking news, but how would he report on his own family story? Let's see what he has to say for himself. I've always been interested in my family history, and I love travelling and experiencing new places. I think, too, being a first-generation NZer, having my dad being born in the UK and my mum coming from Australia, it makes me kind of inquisitive about my roots a little bit, but I've always kind of thought my DNA background, at the very least, was just a bit boring. Everything, from what I know about my background, would suggest that it'll be pretty vanilla. My grandma is the single best travel person I've ever met. She's 87, and she's heading to Iran this year. As you do. For me, I think that's where the travel bug comes from. For the last 10 years or so, ever since, pretty much, I got out of high school, I've spent almost every spare dollar on travelling, because I love it. Hello, Jack. Hello, Richard. How are you? I'm fine, thank you. Welcome to the DNA Depot. Take a seat; not mine. And, uh, you come from a family of academics? Yeah, we have computer science in the blood. In fact, my grandma was, like, a pioneering female computer scientist in Australia. My grandad was a Rhodes Scholar on that side as well, a mathematician. And then I kind of let down the team. Did you? Well, yeah, I don't do quite as much sudoku. You've got a passion for travel. Yeah. Apparently. Yeah. And you've been all over the world. When did that all begin? That interest, in that? Well, I think from a very young age. My mum's side of the family were big travellers. My dad immigrated to NZ from Britain with my grandparents. They came here on an Italian liner in the 1960s. So, I think, uh, from both sides of the family there's a little bit of an intrepid bloodline, perhaps, where people like exploring, like looking around the next corner. Well, your DNA results are in. Let's take a look at that, shall we? OK, Jack, you're well-versed with your European heritage. But there's, you know, a few surprises hidden in your distant past. The lighter blue there indicates some Scandinavian heritage, and there is even a hint of purple there, which means you've got an ancestor from Africa. So, if we're going to stick with the ice cream metaphor, you're more Neapolitan than vanilla. There's going to be more revelations of DNA with exotic origins shortly, and, uh, the lab found also 892 DNA matches, so you'll have to prepare yourself to meet some of those relatives rather soon. Now, I'm going to give you this, which I want you to keep on your person. I should be contacting you through that... Oh, very flash. ...while you're on your travels. OK, great. And, well, that's it, really. Fantastic. All I can say is farewell. Thank you so much. Au revoir, bon voyage. OK. (LAUGHS) Safe travels. Thank you very much. See you soon, Richard. Bye-bye. Thanks. Jack's about to discover he's got a touch of spice in his ancestry. It seems that globetrotting is something his 'grandcestors' had a little bit of a taste for, as well. (CLICKS TONGUE) Whoo-hoo. Would you like to know how we know this? Well, our DNA has patterns in it, that are decided by who our ancestors were, where they lived, even what they ate or even drank, and testing saliva reveals these patterns, and when people have segments that match, we know they're related. Using DNA databases we can find living relatives and ancient ancestors from all around the world. Now, paper records are very easily lost, destroyed or corrupted, so using this technology allows the DNA detectives to join up all the dots, making the kinds of connections that wouldn't have been remotely possible in the past. I call New York home. I call NZ home as well. I call both places home, but I remember the first time I came to New York. (SIGHS) I was intoxicated. I remember writing in my travel journal, 'I wanna live here. I've gotta live here.' I reckon if there's one place on Earth where you've got people from every corner of Earth, it isn't Paris, it isn't London, it isn't Rome. Those are great cities, but it's New York. New York City is the most diverse place on Earth, and that's what was so exciting about it. It's just a bit of a change from Christchurch. Jack is about to go on a treasure hunt. It's going to lead him to a genetic relative called Kelly, who's a bit of a DNA super-sleuth herself. READS: 'Jack, I hope you like puzzles. 'Head to the station with the right track and find a haven to visit. More to come.' A haven? I reckon we might be going to Connecticut. Totally a hunch. It's only a hunch. Well, that's a good hunch, Jack. So I say, 'Get yourself on the train.' All aboard! (IMITATES TRAIN WHISTLE) We've been studying your bloodlines and found a painter called Robert Bernard. Robert was your third great-grandfather, and before leaving England for South Australia, he painted this master work in 1833. It was attributed to others, until about 10 years ago, when a restorer from the Yale Center for British Art discovered Robert's signature on it. So you're off to New Haven to see it. There's a dossier on his life coming your way. So bedtime reading for you. Right, so you know Murphy and his law? Ha, yeah, well, funny thing, that. You come halfway round the world to Yale University, to a very specific art gallery, to see a very specific painting, and what do you know? The gallery's closed ` for renovations. 18 months I've gotta wait, but we'll see what else we can find out. Hello. < Hi. I'm sorry to bother. Um, this is a bit weird. I've just found out today a relative of mine, a guy named Robert Bernard, has a painting here. Do you know anything about a painting by a guy called Robert Bernard? Yes, I do. Would you like to see it? Yeah. Yes, please. Sure. That's it. Oh, that's incredible. Mm-hm. I'm going to have to get one of these for Granny. She's going to be so excited. Well, do you know anything about it? This is a very large painting in the permanent collection. It's a focal point of museum visitors. How big is it? I take it that it's a little larger than this. Yeah. (LAUGHS) Just a little bit. It would take up most of that wall. Wow. It's enormous. Yes, it's a very famous, very prominent, proud part of our collection. That's so thrilling. What's it like in real life? Um, the colours are a lot more vibrant. The composition is a lot more beautiful in person. Yeah. Well, thank you. Don't worry, you'll see it. (LAUGHS) Yeah, I'm looking forward to` I'm going to have to make some return visits, I think. Yeah, you'll love it. You know the extraordinary thing, though? Mm? You know what he did after he painted this? Mm? He gave it up. He moved to South Australia. He became a house painter. It's so sad. Do you own a house that was painted by him? I don't. That would be very nice. Does your family? It would be very nice if I owned anything painted by him. How much would this be worth? This would be, like, hundreds of millions, do you think? I couldn't say. I'm not qualified. Billions, billions. Billions. (LAUGHS) Honestly, anyone who's seen my homemade Christmas cards knows that, apparently, although we share some DNA, we don't share the same steady hand. We don't share the same artistic talents. Now, what does your family think about this? Are they excited? They don't know. You haven't told them? No, no, I haven't told them. It's... You haven't told your mom? Well, I will, but it's` they're all fast asleep. I've known this for about two hours. Oh my God. Yeah. Jack's third great-grand father, Robert Bernard, may never have set foot in America, but his masterpiece means that the Bernard name now lives on in New Haven. I was so excited to tell my family about the painting, I bought 14 postcards. (LAUGHS) For more than 10 years now, whenever I've travelled anywhere, I've sent postcards off to my mum and my grandma and a couple of mates. And then I got an email back from my grandma, saying, 'Oh, yeah, Robert Bernard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'He was a painter.' I said, 'What? Granny, why didn't you tell me this before?' And she said, 'I just thought no one was interested.' It's a lesson, isn't it? Go to your grandma, cos you never know. OK, this is weird. I've had a text from a random number, from someone called Kelly, who says a relative of mine used to work in this very building. His name was Harry. Kelly says Harry ran a successful hatting business, specialising in panama and Stetson hats. So it's obvious fashion is a bit of a family trait. Anyway, Kelly says she'll have more information about` CELL PHONE RINGS Oh. Jack. The next relative in your DNA chain is an expert at using DNA to piece together genealogical puzzles. Now, Kelly calls the West Coast of America her home, but she wants you to join her on a DNA field trip, so you're going to meet her in York, and that means you've got a flight to catch. So, while Jack packs his bags for England, our next victim, celebrity chef Ray McVinnie, is about to discover what his test results uncover, including his connection to rock and roll royalty. You got in some good genes, didn't you? Yeah, exactly. (VACUUM CLEANER WHIRRS) (CELL PHONE BEEPS) Oh! To help keep you safe if there's an emergency, all compatible mobile phones are now able to receive emergency mobile alerts. (CELL PHONES BEEP) Huh? Oh! (WHOOSH!) (BARKS) So when you hear this sound,... (CELL PHONE BEEPS) ...stop doing what you're doing and follow the instructions. (BEEP! BEEP!) s Our DNA is like a recipe which combines ingredients from hundreds of our ancestors. But after only three or four generations, we often have no idea what really is in that mix. So what is coursing through the veins of foodie Ray McVinnie? Ray's very proud of his Italian lineage, but his DNA results show that his is a much richer recipe. So let's see what Ray imagines his history might be, shall we? I dunno, maybe it's this Italian blood that I think I've got. That whole thing about family is` is, you know, you'd kill for them, you really would. You know, it's just the best thing I've ever done, having children with someone I love. Look, I've written books, I've got a degree, done all sorts of stuff, but the best thing I` I ever was involved in was having two kids. The other thing that I notice about my kids, especially, when you` you see other members of your family in them. You know, sometimes I do a double take because my` my daughter sounds like my sister. When I did go back to the ancestral village a few` well, 10 years ago now, they'd started showing me pictures, and I remember Anna, the old lady, saying, 'And this is my father,' and I looked at it and thought, 'Oh for God's sake, that's my father. It looks exactly like him.' Ray, welcome to the incident room. How are you? Good to see you. Good. Sit down. We're going to reveal your future and your past and all those kinds of things, and surprise the hell out of you. Spooky. Now, Italian cooking, it's that special love of yours. Is there any reason for that? Uh, it turns out that my grandmother's family, or some of them, came from there. And in 2000 I was on the international jury for the Slow Food Award, and they shipped us all off to Italy. OK. Well, it just so happened that the village is actually near where I was going to be, so we went there. Moved to tears. I've ended up with a great attachment to Italy. Well, we've got in our possession a map which shows all your DNA markers around the world. Are you ready to watch that? Absolutely. OK. Stand by. OK, Ray, there's no surprise. You have a large helping of European DNA, with an entree of Italian. Now, you can't help but spot the African elements there. Well, yes. Some people think that that relates to human migration out of Africa, but that's not the case. You've got ancestors from both sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, and there's also a small percentage of Ashkenazi Jewish DNA. Does that mean anything to you? Yeah, it does, actually. You know how you have family stories? One of the family stories was` is that we had some Portuguese Sephardi Jews who were kicked out of Portugal in the ` I don't know when ` 18th Century or something, and I don't know` quite know where they went. Yeah, it's funny, I've got Jewish friends who look at me sometimes and say, 'Yeah, you look Sephardi.' OK. So, whatever that means. So where do you think you might be headed on this journey? Do you think Italy? I hope it's Italy. Italy would be good. You'd like to go to Italy. Oh, look, I'd imagine that village is where we would go. I've only been there once, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, Ray, there's still a couple of surprises to come. We put your results into a DNA database, which has given us 923 genetic matches for you. We have relatives who are waiting to meet you, and, um, we'll be in touch. A device. Thank you for coming in. Thank you. Bye bye, Ray. Well, Ray may well imagine that he's going to be eating pasta in some small Italian village, but there's a tropical island halfway round the world, where relatives are already preparing for his arrival. Tracking down your DNA ` I mean, the whole science is absolutely fascinating; that they can actually do it. I mean, they can tell how much Neanderthal` I mean, you can probably tell by looking at me, but how much Neanderthal I've got in me, which` which group I was` you know, my ancestors were with when` when everybody left Africa. I` I find it absolutely fascinating. DNA detectives use genetic testing to locate relatives, who can be second cousins or relations who share an ancestor of over 300 years back. So we're sure to find people who have fallen off the family tree as well. Tulsa, Oklahoma. What the hell am I doing in Tulsa, Oklahoma? I can't think of one connection, no family stories, nothing that takes me to America, but I can't wait to find out. Based on our DNA results, Daniel probably shares a great-great-great-grandcestor with Ray, but there's no question the DNA matches up. This would probably be the most random thing I've ever done. I can't wait to meet these people. I feel really nervous. Sort of scarily nervous. I wonder if they're gonna look like me. Hello. Hello. Hello. How are you? Oh, I'm good. It's so good to see you. How are you, sir? Good to meet you. You're family ` distant, very very distant family. But we're family. But we're family. Yes. I know. Meet the Presleys. Yep, Elvis is Daniel and cousin Sherry's fifth cousin, so the King is now Ray's kin. When we were young, everyone always teased us because of our last name, and they wanted to know if there was an Elvis connection, and we really didn't know until Dan did the research. So you have a, uh, definite connection, then, to Elvis. How fantastic. The great-grandparents Daniel shares with Elvis were originally named Preslar. They Americanised it to Presley when they came over from Germany in 1710. But Elvis isn't the only new relative. There's a passel of Presleys. Daniel's aunt, Doris, is here to give Ray the guided tour. And these are Presleys. This is the Presley clan here? Yep. This is my grandfather. It's Marvel Presley. Marvel Presley, yeah. This is my dad, William Herbert Presley. So I'm related to these people too? Yes, you are. I am. Because this woman just looks a little bit like some of the women in my family. She looks like my sister's child. Seriously? You know, it's very very interesting. 'Well, the King. I like that a lot. 'Never heard of a Presley connection, not even a name that sounded similar. 'And` And the whole thing about it is` is that it's a fact. The DNA proves it.' I'm so pleased about this. (LAUGHS) You got in some good genes, didn't you? Yeah, exactly. Ray is about to discover another DNA relative who made history, while Jack uncovers a spicy twist in his DNA recipe. You look a little shell-shocked. Just it's so cool! s Now, we here at the DNA Detectives scour the world to match people with their genetic relations, and we've sent broadcaster Jack Tame to York in England to meet an American DNA relative, who's busy doing some detective work of her own. CELL PHONE RINGS Ah, Jack. Now, there's a chance you might recognise Kelly. But just in case, head to the park by the River Ouse, and just like Lili Marlene, she'll be... (SINGS) 'underneath the lamp post.' Right, the lamp post. So I've come from New York City to Yorkshire, and it's a bit weird. I always knew I had English blood. To be honest, I kind of always thought I had nothing but English blood, peasant English blood. Uh, but I've been told to come here, to York, to meet an American. And you must be Kelly? I am. I'm Jack. Glad to meet ya. How are ya? Nice to meet you. Good to meet you. So we're, um, um, related. Yes, we are. You've got blue eyes. This is it. You see. I have dark, bushy eyebrows. Yeah, yeah, that brow again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, it's nice to meet you. We've got a lot to catch up on. Nice to meet you. Yeah, we do. So we are related by DNA. I hope you know more about it than I do. I certainly do. I've been looking into it for quite a while, trying to find out the exact connection. Are we cousins, or are we...? Well, in order to share DNA, we're probably in the line of between fourth and eighth cousins. I have no concept of what that even means. Your first cousins share the same grandparents. Your second cousins share the same great-grandparents. Third, great-great and so on. Great-great. It's a wee way back. Yeah, about 1700s, probably. DNA can prove a connection, but it doesn't always confirm which generation the connection happens in. Jack and Kelly are likely to be linked by a common ancestor in England, but Kelly's still scouring the family tree. However, she has found another secret in Jack's DNA, and this one has a name attached to it. This is your DNA. OK. This is showing all of the chromosomes, one through 22, and the 23 is your X and Y. You get X from Mum and Y from Dad. From Dad, yep. And then they're colour-coded here. Most of it's all blue, which is Northern European. Do you see anything else? South Asian? Yes! Wow. Did you know about that? No, I didn't. Yeah. Those are quite large blobs, wouldn't you say? Yeah. What does that mean? In this case you have Indian ancestry, from India. Wow, really? Yes, it's actually a relative that we found in your tree. Yeah? Yeah. Please, fill me in. OK, well, you have a surname, Bert, in your tree. OK. And Adam Bert, who was born in 1755,... Yeah. ...he was born in Cleish, Kinross-shire, in Scotland. Right. OK? And he was a surgeon. OK. And he went to India. Wow. So the surgeon, he married a native Indian woman. One of their offspring was George, who is your ancestor. Yeah. And then he immigrated to Australia, the son. That's so cool. There was this, like, kind of rumour in the family about a little bit of Indian blood, and, you know. And you go 'Oh, yeah, yeah.' 'Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.' I mean, the DNA nails it, and you have a perfect paper trail back to it. Yeah. No wonder I love cricket so much. < (LAUGHS) It's amazing. You look a little shell-shocked. I just` It's so` It's cool. History turns on the smallest margins, the tiniest margins. The` The sheer mathematics behind existing is bewildering. Yeah, the decision by a surgeon in Scotland to move across the world to Bengal, to settle in Calcutta, is the reason I exist. That's pretty spooky. What if he'd waited a year? What if he'd, you know, chosen to go to another colony instead? It's amazing. Well, Ray's been getting to know the Presley family. They're the DNA relatives that connect him to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis. But that's not his only connection to someone who helped to make history. It's in Alabama. So you're all from Alabama. (LAUGHS) Y'all from Alabama. Are you familiar with the slavery and stuff that we had in the United States? Um, yeah, I'm pretty familiar with it. You know, it happened, and... OK, so the segregation and stuff took place in Alabama, which is where our families are from, and we had a cousin who was appointed to be a federal judge, and he is the one that desegregated all of the South ` Frank Thomas is his name, and, um, just an incredible man. So, the case of Rosa Parks? Mm, yes, famous. He was the one that struck that down. Is she the one on the` on the bus? On the bus. Wow. Oh, that's incredible. The Ku Klux Clan put a flaming cross on his lawn, and threats are being made, but he stuck to his guns and made the rulings that` that really helped change America. < Wow. Good man. So what is it about us humans that makes this stuff just so deeply fascinating? I mean, is there some chemistry going on here? Roots. Roots. Yeah. God, now I feel really, you know, emotional, but, yeah, I have this instant, sort of like, trust for you guys, because you are family. It's what it is, isn't it? < It is, it's family. Yeah. < It's pretty bizarre. Yeah, it is. < I mean, seriously, all the way across the world. I mean, really, come on. Yeah, it is so strange. < It is. But I like it. Yeah, thank you. < You're welcome. What lovely, lovely people. You know, they took such good care of me and spent so much time. I have to say, I'm pretty proud to be part of their family ` or our family. I was looking at those old photographs, and I was damn sure I could see a resemblance between my daughter and one of the women in one of the really old photos. It's really making me think about who you are, what you are, you know, where you came from. CELL PHONE RINGS Hello, Ray. A thousand apologies for tearing you away from Tulsa, but we have another set of family for you to meet and another flight for you to catch. I'm not going to tell you too much, but you could be on island time soon. Good luck. Island time. Island time. What the hell does that mean? (LAUGHS) Well, Ray, remember that 2.2% of African markers the lab found in your DNA? Bit of a shock? That's the previously hidden trace of an ancestor from 200 to 300 years ago. But, of course, on paper, ethnicity isn't so obvious, and, as generations pass, physical traits combine, just like sugar, cream or lemon in a cuppa. The blend that makes us who we are is a mystery, until DNA tests come along and stir things up. Next, Jack will find himself behind bars, while Ray's about to discover that he has relatives on an island in the sun. And you talk like Jamaicans. ALL: We are Jamaicans. s Now, Jack has just met his genetic relative Kelly, who's a whiz at decoding DNA and tracing ancestry. She's revealed his intriguing Indian roots. His fifth great-grandfather was a Scottish surgeon, born in 1755, who moved to India. I told my grandma, 'Grandma, we are definitely Indian.' (LAUGHS) She said, 'Oh, it's good to have it confirmed.' Grandma's spent quite a bit of time in India. She went through the Silk Road last year. She was` Oh, maybe last year was the trip up to Tanzania and Timbuktu. It's hard to keep up. Honestly, the postcards I send Granny are nothing compared to the postcards Granny sends me. Jack, Jack ` attention, please. Jack! Look, it's time to go underground now. Now, the DNA Detectives love reuniting family, so Jack is joining Kelly on an ancestry quest of her own. So, why are we here? I` In search of my fifth great-grandfather. Your great-great-great- great-great-grandfather? Yes. Right. And, uh, he was in the York Castle Prison? (LAUGHS) He was, along with his brother. For what? Highway robbery. Highway robbery? Yes. It's very 1700s, isn't it? (LAUGHS) Yes. And the amount they stole was equivalent to about US$100. So they were very reasonably sentenced to... ...death. (LAUGHS) From there, they ended up in America ` a punishment even worse. Well, they had a choice. They could die. Bad option. Yeah, or they could be reprieved, sent on a ship to America,... < Right. ...and then sold, pretty much as slaves, for 16 years' indenture. Wow. Well, it doesn't look like they would have had the most comfortable existence while they were still here, does it? You don't like this bed, do you? You can't` You can't get that at IKEA. No, no. Wow. And it's wonderful to be able to come here and think that my ancestors were here. I mean, if you look at a typical family tree with all those names and dates... (SCOFFS) Yeah. What difference does that make? You don't really connect to it. But if you go to the places and you start to learn about the lives of the people,... Yeah. ...yeah, that's what really matters. So, if you're stuck in the 1770s here, I can see you going back another couple of hundred years, further and further and further. Well, I have done that. There's different kinds of DNA, but the DNA can clinch a connection. I've written a beginner's guide to genetic genealogy, which is online for free for people. A lot of the experts put it into terms that you` aren't accessible. So I wanted it to be something that you could follow step by step and really get it. The stories take you everywhere, so you end up here in England, but before that, where were they? Were they Vikings? Were they Saxons? Were they Roman soldiers? Were they prisoners? You can tell that from the Y-DNA. Jack, we found the location where Kelly's ancestors committed their dirty deeds. Head to Castleton, follow the map, find the scene of the crime. So, this is the place where the scoundrels in your family... Yes, yes. ...committed their crime. Yes, somewhere along this track, Francis and, uh, Thomas committed highway robbery. How is it then, for you, to come into a place like this and thinking that 250 years ago, a defining moment in your family history happened? It's emotional and sobering at the same time, because, like you said, it all turns on a dime. You know, go back 400 years, you have 100,000 ancestors. It's amazing, isn't it? And they all had stories, and they're all people with lives, like our lives. Yeah. And we don't know anything about them. Yeah. So just to catch ahold of a few threads starts to build a fabric that really enriches your life, or anybody else who chooses to follow it. I tell you what, she can tell a story, Kelly can. It's extraordinary how much work she's put in, how passionate she is about it. But she` she's clearly got a passion for history, and you can see why. It's` It's amazing. I think, like a lot of people, I actually didn't know much about my family. I mean, I know about my immediate family, but just a generation or two further back, I really didn't know much. I love diversity. It's why I love living in New York, and it's so exciting to have something that's a little more exotic than Birmingham. (LAUGHS) Nothing against Birmingham, but it's` it's a rush to think, 'Wow, some of my ancestors have had incredible adventures, 'and actually those adventures are in me. They shape me.' CELL PHONE RINGS All right, Jack, you've got another DNA relative back in the United States, who's also deep into tracing ancestry, who has even written a software programme to help with the cause. Head towards the mountains of West Virginia and follow this map. Hurricane? I have relatives in Hurricane... (SINGS) 'West Virginia!' America. Um, yeah. I don't know what to expect. Gotta fuel up with some superfoods, though, eh? Body's a temple. We here at the DNA Detectives have been combing over the results of celebrity chef Ray McVinnie's DNA testing, and the team have a hunch that Ray's African and Jewish DNA markers have their common roots in, of all places, Jamaica. I have heard about the Jamaican connection before. It's an old family story that comes up now and again, but we've never dug too deep into it. and I've certainly never met any of the rellies. Hopefully, that's about to change. Everyone, good morning. Welcome home to Jamaica. Welcome. CELL PHONE RINGS Hello, Ray. Your father's family had links to Jamaica four generations ago, so it's a very good place to start looking for some answers. Two names keep popping up ` McLean and Kentish. You're going to meet Diana, Suzy and Ingrid. They also have Kentish and McLeans in their past, and they're very very keen to help you solve this puzzle. Ray? I'm Diana. Diana. And I'm Suzy. Suzy. Nice to meet you. How are you? Hi, I'm Ingrid. Ingrid. Welcome to Jamaica. Yeah. It's so good. So, we're cousins. Yeah. Yes, we're cousins. Very very distant, I should think. Distant, but, hey. And you talk like Jamaicans. We` We` We are Jamaicans. Because we are Jamaicans. Yeah, yeah. Been here a long time. Yeah. So, there was a McLean back in the 18th Century in Kingston. I don't think he was born here, and I think the dirty dog skipped off and left the children and the wife. Indeed? Sounds very Jamaican. ALL LAUGH Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. OK. Did you know he was David? Did you know his first name? No. > So, I think it was David McLean. He was married to a woman called Kentish. Kentish. I know this name, yeah. Do you? Kentish. Yeah, definitely. And then one of those McLeans married a Robinson. Right. > And we are descended from the Robinsons. Right. Right, yeah. > I hope I'm not being annoying, but have you noticed how I keep looking into your eyes all the time? I'm trying to look in` look at you, and... yeah, it's most interesting. You can look at me if you want to, by the way. < We are looking at you. < We are looking at you. Could be a little unsettling. ALL LAUGH So we'll check the family tree at their house, but we're pretty sure we share a third great-grandfather, David McLean. Now, I wonder if that's the part of the family the cooking comes from. We're making ackee and salt fish, which is our national dish. If I'd known, I would have brought my knives. ALL LAUGH I see expertise. ALL LAUGH Being in the kitchen, I really enjoyed it, and you can see that those three women have worked together just non-stop. Everything that we cook in Jamaica, we use thyme as one of the main seasonings and Scotch bonnet pepper. Right. Which is... Which is, of course, this one. Right. Really hot but very nice flavours. And tomatoes. So you say to-may-to, and we say to-mah-to. WOMEN: To-mah-to. We say to-may-to. We say to-may-to, yeah. Let's call the whole thing off. ALL LAUGH Suzy ran it, because she` she's the cook, but she's not a complete domineering cook, unlike me, of course. Don't make them splash so deep. And how long will you cook that? Until they're cooked. Oh, I like that. I like that. LAUGHTER Bon appetit. Bon appetit. Right. Right. > Let's get into it. Good? > < This is knockout. It's quite rich, isn't it? Mm-hm. But it's really really good. Mmm. Great job, guys. Now that Ray's learned a new family dish, it's time to uncover a few more ingredients in his genetic recipe. So this is the family tree that we know about of Ann McLean, who married a Thomas Gray. Right. And Ann is the seventh child of David McLean. You say Mc-Lane? And this Marianne Kentish woman` Because this is where I stop. I don't know anything about David McLean or Kentish. Well, the only other thing that I know, further back, is about the Portuguese Sephardi Jews. Oh, really? Dug-wheel-ahs or something like that, who... D'Aguilars. D'Ag` D'Aguilars? D'Aguilar. Does that mean something to you? Yes, there are lots of D'Aguilars in Jamaica. You're related to them? Not` Not until this moment. (LAUGHS) Oh, now you know you are. Now` Now you're telling me something I didn't know. Right. CELL PHONE RINGS Hello, Ray. We've done some research, and the great-great-great-grandfather you all share, David McLean, was in fact born a black slave. Wow. Slave. Yeah... So this guy was a slave? You see, I had it the other way around. That's amazing. It's amazing. We found out that David McLean was a slave. I think they quite liked it. Suzy at once said, 'Well, that's where my hair came from,' cos she had the really curly hair. Great. We had no idea about that. No idea. That's a big revelation, and it's going to take some time to get my head around what it all really means, but what I know for sure is that it's been great meeting my new family. Do I think I'll see them again? I bloody hope so. I really liked them. I want them to come to, you know, my place. I want to cook for them. CELL PHONE RINGS Ray, good to talk to you again. Look, we've been on the case of the colourful David McLean, so make your way to the Royal Jamaican Yacht Club, where Arthur, another of your island cousins, is waiting for you. Now, he's got news of how the African side of your family found its way to NZ, and there are even some aristocratic connections. Whoo-hoo! While Jack's off to discover a relative straight out of a James Bond film, Ray's poised to find out how his African and Jewish roots come together. Of course, the burning question is how are we related? s Ray's quest to piece together how his third great-grandfather, African slave David McLean, connects to NZ, has brought him to Port Royal, home of the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club. He's meeting his relative Arthur, who's done a bit of sleuthing himself and put together the missing pieces in this DNA puzzle. Hey, Arthur, it's extremely good to meet you. And, of course, the burning question is ` how are we related? I think it's your third great-grandfather, William Kentish McLean. That's the brother of my fourth great-grandmother. William Kentish McLean migrated to NZ. I wondered how we got the NZ thing going on. William Kentish McLean ` he is the son of David McLean. Right. And, Arthur, what can you tell me about David McLean? He was a slave, wasn't he? Right, right. Yeah. But he was freed by his father, Hannanel, and his mother, you know... Because Hannanel had, um, had those children with the slave? Yep. Three children ` he freed them all, and her as well. David McLean. He is the grandson of the first Baron d'Aguilar. Really? Wow. So, there we have it. Baron d'Aguilar, the Sephardic Jewish grandfather to the black David McLean, accounts for Ray's Ashkenazi Jewish markers. Yet another DNA Detectives victory. Many Jamaicans cannot trace their ancestry to before the English occupation. After they were conquered, only the Portuguese Jews were allowed to stay. There's an ancient Jewish burial ground here, and they go back to the early 1600s. Well, the first Baron d'Aguilar, I believe, would be buried there. Buried there. Right, OK. It was completely surprising that the Jewish aspect went to Jamaica. I thought those two things were completely separate. But, you know, it's all just part of one big bit of weaving, really, isn't it? I learnt so much from Arthur. Jews came here fleeing the Inquisition and anti-Semitism in Europe. Apparently Port Royal was a haven. Doesn't sound like one. The floor of the synagogue was covered with a layer of white sand, which is how the Jews muffled the sounds of worship, in case they were discovered and denounced to the Inquisition. So I'm having a look here to see if I can see anything. You know, David McLean, the slave, was a d'Aguilar. That's the Jewish connection, of course. I can't see anything. Maybe they're here and they're not under the name that I expected. Maybe they're here` I mean, you feel very, sort of, connected with the past, which is what this is all about. Jamaica is still keeping some secrets. Ray may not have found the final resting place of his Jewish and black slave ancestors, but his Jamaican journey's uncovered new relatives that have deepened his understanding of his family's history. Look, I like doing crossword puzzles. I like to see things fit together, and what I like about this genealogy thing is it's, you know, fitting all the parts together. Is that something to do with why I like cooking and being a chef? You're sort of making order out of chaos, which is kind of what all this is about, really. One thing I do think is that my kids, they're going to really really love the idea that they have Jamaican relatives, and I bet they want to come here and meet them at some stage. I hope they do. Meanwhile, back in America, Jack's exploring Hurricane, West Virginia, population 6000, and one of them is his genetic relative. CELL PHONE RINGS Yo, Rich, what's the sitch? Jack, it's time for you to meet James, another DNA relative with a very unusual occupation. Find the local park, and he'll find you. (SINGS 'TWILIGHT ZONE' THEME TUNE) It's very unusual. 'What are you doing?' 'Oh, just meeting a stranger in a park. Don't worry about that.' Hi. > Hi, there. You` You must be James. Yes. I'm Jack. Good to meet you. I hope this is, uh` you too. I hope this is as weird for you as it is for me. (LAUGHS) Yes. We're family, though, I take it? Yes, we're genetically related. That's incredible. We probably share a set of, like, second or third great-grandparents. Wow. That's amazing, isn't it? And what's really amazing is how this small-town man makes his living. So tell me about what you do for a job. Well, I've done a lot of security work, where companies would hire me to break into their systems or their` even their buildings, to, uh, test out their security. Very 'Mission Impossible.' And so, what, you just have to hack in, or actually physically break in sometimes as well? Both. It depends on the contract. Uh, sometimes they don't want me just to hack in. Like, the company would have, like, a new website, and they'd want to see if I could get the product that's being sold for free, and 30 minutes later I'm sending the guy an email, you know, with links where he can download the product for free. Right. But James also uses his computing skills to bring people together. I've written a lot of software that helps adoptees figure out their genetic relations. Like, figure who their parents are is the goal. Right. So you write programmes to help people who've been adopted find their parents? Yes. Why did you get into this? My wife. She` At one point we discovered that her birth story didn't match up to reality. Right. And we never received any, kind of, official confirmation that she was adopted, but we started to suspect that very strongly, so started to employ the DNA techniques to try to figure out what her family tree is. That's what got me into it. Uh, how successful have you been so far with this, in finding people's parents? I've been able to find a lot of shared ancestors, um, like grandparents, great-grandparents. Some people have been able to find their parents. You know, it's a little bit more rare. How do you feel about meeting other family members? It's` It's interesting. I mean, it's` the DNA testing is, like, even family that I've` that weren't unknown, you know, start taking the test and you kind of reconnect with them a little bit. Yeah. And make Facebook friends. You know, we're not going doing Christmases together or anything like that. (LAUGHS) Not yet. Isn't it amazing? I mean, imagine what his business cards look like ` 'Professional Hacker'. He gets paid to hack things. It's very Edward Snowden. It's very James Bond. He told me very quietly when the cameras weren't rolling, that so far, of all the security jobs he's been hired to do, he hasn't met one where he hasn't been able to breach the security in some way, so it's not a bad little record. Coming into this experience, I really thought we were just vanilla. I thought you could trace everything back to England, and that was the end of that. It was kind of two-dimensional, but having gone through it all, we're a bit more nuanced. We're a bit more interesting. I never thought I would have relatives in America. I certainly didn't think I'd have a big splash of Indian blood. I know it sounds big and kind of existential, and, you know, 'What is the origins of the universe?' But it's been an experience of perspective. I've come to appreciate just how insignificant all of us are. Just how extraordinary us existing as us really is. Now, the study of DNA is a fascinating science that opens our eyes to how connected we all really are. The DNA Detectives is proving that we all have links hidden in our blood to places and people we could never have imagined. So, who's going to be curious enough to take the test next week? Why don't you join us and find out? Captions by Ngaio Abrahamson. Edited by Amy Park.