A RANGE of family history courses are on offer in Dorchester for people inspired by the hit BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?

The courses are being held at the Adult Learning Centre in Prince of Wales Road, Dorchester, over the next few weeks.

They will include expert advice for beginners and intermediate researchers, plus tips on what to do with the information uncovered.

Tutor Jane Ferentzi-Shepherd said: “Family history is one of the fastest growing hobbies, with more and more people wanting to look back in time and find out about their own personal history.

“It’s not just about collecting names of ancestors but more about the social history of the time, how people lived, where they worked and what was happening in the world at the time.

“It’s about bringing history alive and learning lots of skills along the way.”

On the BBC show, celebrities explore the lives of past family members.

The current series has featured celebrities such as Fiona Bruce, Rick Stein, Kevin Whately and Zoe Wanamaker.

The courses include sessions for beginners on March 14 and 21. It will look at records dating back to 1837.

There will also be intermediate sessions on pre-1837 records on February 24 and March 10, as well as a session looking at military records on March 17.

The final session on March 24 will cover organising, writing up and presenting your family research.

The sessions all run from 10am to 4pm. Two-day courses are £31 and £22 for concessions.

The one-day workshops are £15.50 and £11 for concessions.

Call 0800 262648 or log on to www.dorsetforyou.com/adulted to enrol.

Dorset History Centre in Bridport Road, Dorchester, is also open from Tuesday to Saturday each week and has extensive research facilities available.