Sue Perkins

It's not surprising that Sue Perkins finds plenty of humour in her family tree, even in the poignant stories of an orphaned grandfather and a great-grandfather interned as an enemy alien during the First World War. But when she delves into the German branch of her family, who were living in eastern Europe through the Second World War, she uncovers a harrowing tale of refugees fleeing back and forth across borders between Nazi and Soviet control. It's a reminder for Sue that history is full of real people who "always pay the price for the decisions that the big guys make."