Filming for Series 10 of the popular BBC daytime programme Heir Hunters is now well under way and the cameras have been rolling non-stop at Finders International HQ as we provide the material that will be featured in the new series.
We have already uncovered some exciting cases that will feature on the series. The programme Heir Hunters always looks for the unusual and interesting cases to feature, cases where the rightful heirs to an estate are very difficult to trace, or people with fascinating pasts or relatives who were involved in key points of history.
Naturally, we can’t reveal at this stage what cases are being featured, but it is safe to say that there will be plenty of unexpected twists and turns.
Series 9 of Heir Hunters proved to be very popular with the public and we received a lot of feedback from people who watched the show. Cases that were featured on Series 9 included the estate of Alec Fisher. Case manager Ryan Gregory thought he was taking on a straightforward case, but it ultimately proved to be rather more complex.
Alec had died in a care home in 2010 and his estate had laid unclaimed, as a will couldn’t be found. After careful investigation by Ryan and his team, it was discovered that Alec had a brother George but the two brothers had been estranged from one another.
Incredibly, Ryan found out that not only had his brother George died on the same day as Alec, but that he had died in the very same hospital and that he hadn’t left a will either. The value of the brothers’ combined estates was more than £300,000.
Alec and George didn’t have any other siblings, so the investigation of the case then looked at the siblings of their parents. In total, some 13 heirs to the estates were found – one on the mother’s side and 12 on the father’s side, including one Peter Smith who hadn’t known of Alec and George, and who was very glad to take advantage of the family tree service provided by Finders.
Another case on Series 9 of Heir Hunters was that of Audrey Gilkerson, taken on by case manager Amy Moyes, following a private referral. A friend of Audrey’s had contacted Finders to say that Audrey had died and that they were anxious her estate, which they believed to be substantial, should go to her next of kin.
Amy’s initial investigations revealed that Audrey had lived and died in Sutherland in 2013. She had been married to David, who had pre-deceased her in 1994. Shortly after his death, Audrey was taken in to a nursing home suffering from dementia.
Good friend and neighbour Martin was able to fill in details about the couple’s lives. The married couple had shared a passion for travelling and husband David had been a very keen amateur photographer and film-maker.
Martin had found lots of amateur cine films documenting the couple’s travels to Spain and the Amalfi Coast, which he had transferred to DVD and taken to Audrey whilst she was in the care home.
Audrey had two siblings, but both had died, so Amy’s investigations turned to Audrey’s parents. An aunt was discovered and she was thought to have 12 children, so the task of locating potential beneficiaries to the estate turned into a mammoth one.
Amy’s persistence paid off, however, and a potential 56 heirs were found. A wonderful upshot of the case was that David and Audrey’s films were donated to the National Film Archives, as a fascinating documentation of personal history.
We hope to continue to expand the Heir Hunters fan base with Series 10 when it is broadcast next year.
Daniel Curran, founder and MD of Finders international said “We are delighted to be continuing filming with Flame TV for BBC Heir Hunters series 10. Viewer figures for Heir Hunters seem to be increasing and I am told we have more than Jeremy Kyle! We look forward to presenting more fascinating stories from our files on the show. We anticipate Heir Hunters series 10 will be broadcast during March 2016 on BBC1”