DNA test reveals distant family links for kiwi celebs

Amanda Billing found family connections going back 15,000 years. Photo / Supplied

A dozen Kiwi celebrities have undergone DNA testing in a bid to trace their roots back thousands of years.

Television stars, chefs and a former politician are among those whose family histories will be revealed on a new TV show, The DNA Detectives.

Broadcasters Jack Tame and Willie Jackson, weatherman Sam Wallace plus celebrity chefs Ray McVinnie and Michael Van de Elzen are among those who delve into their past - with surprising and shocking results.

They are flown across the world to meet relatives they previously never knew existed.

Former Shortland Street actress Amanda Billing was taken to Europe to meet a distant cousin whose family connections go back hundreds of years. "It was exciting and strange because we had no idea about each other," she told the Herald on Sunday. "The next thing I was standing in front of a person who is related to me a long, long way back.

"I felt an intense sense of connection but it was like opening a Pandora's box."

At the start of the journey, the celebrities spat into a test tube, which was sent to the United States for DNA analysis. The results were then matched to a worldwide database.

During the series, hosted by Rocky Horror Picture Show co-writer Richard O'Brien - participants are not told where in the world they are going to until they turn up at the airport and are handed their DNA secrets.

Billing's adventures will be screened on October 21, along with Sam Wallace's story.

Wallace discovers his ancestors were from England but records stop before freedom fighter William "Braveheart" Wallace fought for Scotland in the late 13th century.

A DNA test is the only way to find out for sure if his descendants once stood on the battlefields of Scotland and the results throw a couple of curve balls at him to deal with.

Billing, 38, grew up in Masterton. She discovered family links going back more than 15,000 years.

"I knew I had British blood and my grandfather used to kid me on I was part Spanish," she said. "But through my DNA I found connections to ancient people and tribes in far away countries that blew me away. All this came about from me spitting into a vial and I am now very curious to find out more about my past. It was an incredible gift to be given and the intensity hasn't diminished since I came back to New Zealand."

• The DNA Detectives 8.30pm October 14 on TV One.