Coming Home Olivia Newton-John

A wonderful exploration of Olivia's, Welsh father's ancestry. Olivia, and her sister Rona, travel to Cardiff in Wales where their family originate from and where their father spent much of his younger years.

Olivia and Rona first discover that their father's grandfather James Newton was a publican. His daughter Daisy, Olivia's grandmother, was a barmaid in her youth at the New Market Tavern in Cardiff (see screen capture). Rona is particularly amused by this revelation as she remembers her Grandmother being very straight laced, strict and going to Church five times on a Sunday. Rona believes that Daisy would have been horrified if anyone had discovered her past.

How Olivia got her double-barrelled name? - it's from her grandparents. Her grandmother Daisy inserted her father's name Newton in front of her husband's surname John to become Newton-John.

They look for the Baptist Church where their great grandparents got married. It is now a department store but parts of the Chapel are still in existence. This department store also incorporates their great grandmother's birth home, 13 St Mary's Street.

Olivia visits the school her father Brinley attended, Canton High School, which is now an Arts Centre. There Olivia views photos from when her father was in the school play and learns more about her father's life. Olivia is also delighted to hear a choir of young adults practising at the Centre.

Olivia is told about her father's time in the RAF, during the War, when he was stationed at Bletchley Park. He used his linguistic skills to decrypt technical German into intelligible English. He was highly regarded and became a Wing Commander in the RAF.

The programme ends with Olivia and Rona reuniting with their aunt, their dad's sister, who was now 87.