Bath research into JK Rowling family contributes to BBC programme
9 August 2011
Research by one of our academics into the family history of JK Rowling has contributed to the hit BBC programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’
Dr Hanna Diamond’s research culminated in her filming a segment in Paris with the acclaimed author.
Dr Diamond, of the Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies, was first asked by BBC producers to contextualise a number of letters sent by Rowling’s great-grandfather in France to his children living back home in England. This however, was only the beginning, as she soon found herself in Paris on a quest for further information.
In a quirk of the filming process Dr Diamond wasn’t actually told the identity of the celebrity until a week before filming, making their meeting an unexpected but pleasing turn of events.
Having studied a number of personal accounts of the Second World War previously, Dr Diamond was ideally placed to take on the investigation and found the case of JK Rowling’s great grandfather of particular interest.
