The Gift
Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. It holds the secrets of your true identity and promises to reveal untold family connections. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for? Across three series, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.
Episodes
Trailer
Have you ever been curious enough to try and find out who you really are?Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after opening a box containing a DNA test.A new six-part documentary series from BBC Radio 4, coming to BBC Sounds weekly on Mondays from 11 September 2023.
1. Fraud
In this first episode, a scandal deep in the heart of London's Harley Street is exposed when a man in his eighties receives a DNA test Christmas present from his daughter.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world. Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our D
2. Justice
A son's quest to learn more about his late father unravels a mystery that's baffled US federal law enforcement for over four decades. It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23an
3. Mistakes
The family that must turn detective to find the couple who had IVF at the same time as them.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the tru
4. Race
The anxieties of navigating a newfound racial identity.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the truth of our heritage - perhaps even a f
5. Health
How can life change when a home DNA test reveals you may be predisposed to serious illness?It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our DNA to a company like Ancestry and 23andMe. Their tests promise to unlock the trut
6. Secrets
In this last episode, as Jenny's own results land in her inbox, she hears how at home DNA tests have brought family secrets - once thought long buried - out into the light.It's the go-to Christmas present for the person who already has everything. A gift that promises to tell you who you really are and how you're connected to the world.
Millions of us have spat into a tube and sent a vial of our D
Bonus: Hacked
October 6th, 2023 - the day before Hamas launches its attack on Israel - a data set stolen from at-home DNA testing company 23andMe is posted on the dark web. A hacker under the username Golem claims it contains millions of data points relating to Ashkenazi Jews living globally. A vast repository of 23andMe's account holder's personal information is then offered to anyone willing to pay for it -
Trailer
It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel when people take at-home DNA tests like Ancestry and 23andMe.In this se
1. Switched - Part 1
An at-home DNA test - taken by chance when a game of golf is rained off - forces one man and three women to reassess everything they thought they knew about their families. It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your f
2. Switched - Part 2
After discovering who she really is, Claire has decided to tell her side of the story.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths th
3. Sold
A breast cancer survivor investigates her genes and uncovers a black market in human life.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truth
4. Taboo
One man’s determination to find his mother reveals an unbearable secret.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel
5. Donor
When testing your DNA becomes an obsession.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel when people take at-home DNA
6. Superdonor
The donor conceived people turning to at-home DNA tests for answers.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the first series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked at the extraordinary truths that can unravel whe
Bonus: Searching
A family's race against time to find the baby they believe DNA testing proves was switched at birth.It’s the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. It promises to tell you who you really are, and how you’re connected to the world. A present that will reveal your genetic past – but could also disrupt your future.In the second series of The Gift, Jenny Kleeman looked deeper into the
Trailer
Jenny Kleeman is back with six more remarkable tales of truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. The whole series is available on BBC Sounds from 2 May, 2026.
1. Twins - Part 1
The special bond between twin sisters Michelle and Lavinia is tested in an almost inconceivable way.In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Production Coordina
2. Twins - Part 2
As they try to come to terms with their discovery, Michelle digs deeper into Lavinia’s test results – but Lavinia doesn’t want to knowIn The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer:
3. Fathers
Technology catches up with sperm donors in ways they could never have imagined.In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
4. Puzzles
When the mystery of her past is solved, Kathy is confronted by a shocking true crime story that helps explain who she is.In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
5. Forbidden
It’s a criminal offence to take an at-home DNA test in France – and Audrey and Arthur must break the law if they want to unlock the truths hidden in their genes.In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.Presenter
6. Deleted
After one of the biggest brands in at-home DNA testing is put up for sale - along with the genetic codes of millions of its customers - Jenny decides if she wants to continue to belong to the global DNA database.In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world wher
