The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

Heir Hunters

Factual: Money

Series following the work of heir hunters

Series following the work of heir hunters, probate detectives looking for distant relatives of people who have died without making a will

Heir Hunters: Series 3

Livia Russell

Matthew Gordon

Barbara Altounyan

Heir Hunters: Series 3: Episode 12: Wren/Olszewski

Factual: Life Stories

Episode 12

Episode 12: Wren/Olszewski

Series 3

Wren/Olszewski

BBC One - Heir Hunters, Series 3, Wren/Olszewski

The team investigates the cases of Kenneth Wren and Jan Olszewski.

Fraser and Fraser attempt to find heirs for Kenneth Wren who appears to have no remaining family and Jan Olszewski who left an estate of £53,000.

Kenneth Wren lived all his life in Romford, and when he passed away aged 79 he appeared to have no remaining family. Despite having lived in sheltered accommodation for nearly 16 years, even his neighbours knew nothing about him. As the heir hunters at Fraser and Fraser set to work they discover that Kenneth was once part of a very large family struggling to survive the inter-war years. But why did he lose touch? And with such a big family, surely there must be at least one surviving heir?

Fraser and Fraser is also on the case of Jan Olszewski. A Polish emigrant living in Halifax, Jan died in 1998 leaving an estate of £53,000. As the trail leads back to Poland, a tale emerges of wartime heroism, the systematic carving up of a country and the shocking truth behind the notorious Katyn massacre of 1940. But will the team succeed in tracking down Jan's family? And how will any heirs react to hearing that he survived the war and started a whole new life for himself in England?

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Series following the work of probate detectives.

Series which follows the work of teams of probate detectives, who track down missing family members of people who have died without making a will.

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Heir Hunters

Series 3

Episode 12: Wren/Olszewski

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