Their eyes met, in time-honoured fashion, across a crowded room. Amanda Redman, overtly sexy in a clingy designer dress, knew instantly that she 'had to have him'. Her prey, Damian Schnabel ...

With her blonde hair, flawless skin and luminescent blue eyes, Amanda Redman is every inch the glamorous actress. At 44, her career is on a high and she can take her pick of the best roles on offer.

Amanda Redman's father died in 1980, when Amanda was in her mid-teens. Until this family history project emboldened her, she had never felt able to ask her mother about her family's past.