We’re getting ready for Heir Hunters Series 9, which will start this month on BBC1 (23 February).This popular day-time show will feature the work of Finders International (we’re a main firm in the show) and we filmed extensively with the production crew last year.Heir Hunters features the stories of people who have died without leaving a will behind and our efforts to find the rightful beneficiaries to their estates. It’s a very popular programme (it attracts up to 1.7 million viewers) as the stories are often heart-warming and intriguing.
If you haven’t already, check out the cases from Series 8.

The new series is no exception to that and the stories featured are sure to provoke a lot of debate and interest among viewers.We’ve been involved with the series since it began. It is very interesting to see what happens with filming – in general, an awful lot of work goes into filming, but at the same time filming doesn’t show the full extent of the work we put into resolving cases.

A 45-minute TV programme can only show the highlights of a case and research doesn’t always make for the most entertaining viewing after all!

All Hands on Deck

Case managers Ryan Gregory, Amy Moyes, David Moakes and Katie Watson, and Finders founders and managing director Daniel Curran all appear on the programme – but several of the cases needed all hands on deck and the Finders team worked together to find beneficiaries.

The cases that will feature in the show cover a wide range of situations – from what happens when someone is adopted, to family estrangements and eventual family reunions. And cases take the Finders International team all over the UK.

The series also looks at what are now obsolete professions – such as framework knitters, and the histories of professions associated with different parts of the UK such as life on the docks, the railway industry in Crewe, ship-building, war-time radio in London, domestic service at one of the UK’s most prestigious universities, vaudeville performing and clay-mining in Cornwall.

Fascinating for Families

There are a few families who have long history of living in an area or working in a certain profession, and finding out about those family members is often fascinating for families.

What is always striking about cases too is the benefits it brings to potential heirs – we don’t just mean the monetary advantages that come from being the rightful heirs to an estate, but the discovery of previously unknown branches of the family tree and relatives.

This is true of many of the cases which feature in Heir Hunters Series 9 – beneficiaries describe finding out more about their families as “magical” and how “eye-opening” it can be. In one case, we were able to supply the missing information to one man’s 30 years of family history research.

The new series of Heir Hunters begins on BBC1 on 23 February at 9.15am and will run for four weeks every week day morning until 20 March. Will you be watching? Be sure to let us know and remember you can also Tweet us about the programme @findersprobate or use #heirhunters