Tv star: Writer and comedian Dom Joly discovers Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his city gig

Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.
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Best known as the creator of Trigger Happy TV, Joly discovered his city connection thanks to a DNA test bought by his wife.

The Lebanese-born star, who also appeared on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, knew he had European connections and had always been curious to find out more.

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So his wife gave him a genetic testing kit from 23andMe and it led him to three second cousins – two women and a man from the same family – who live in the Hallam constituency.

Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.
Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.

Joly, aged 54, has arranged to meet them when he plays The Leadmill on May 20 as part of his Holiday Snaps tour.

He said: “You spit into a test tube and when the results come back you get a breakdown of where you are from. If you agree, they will put you in touch with family members.

"I grew up abroad but knew I came from an English family. I wanted to see if there was a milkman involved! I got connections with Finland and incredibly strong second cousins in Sheffield.

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"I tentatively got in touch and we are going to meet. It is really unlikely and what if they find me unfunny and don’t like the show. I don’t want to be heckled.”

Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.
Writer, broadcaster and comedian Dom Joly has discovered three Sheffield cousins and will meet them at his Leadmill gig this month.

Dom already knew about a cousin in Buxton and hopes to find out more when the family meet.

“The show is about my life, growing up in Lebanon and visiting 106 countries,” he says.

"I’ve got this collection of weird holiday snaps. And I know there’s that cliché that ‘nobody wants to see anybody else’s holiday snaps’. Well, my holiday snaps are really good. And I’ve got some really good stories with them.

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“The theme is travel. The three things I’ll be showing will be my own holiday snaps, holiday snaps from TV shows and holiday snaps from my books.”

As for Sheffield, he’s loving the link. “Music is my love. I was a massive Pulp fan and I also love Richard Hawley and the Human League,” he says.

"I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”

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