Proving Great Britain’s diversity

With its scenic Cotswolds location and strong community spirit, Bledington seems every inch the quintessential English country village – but there’s a lot more to discover from its DNA. In a campaign with AncestryDNA, we revealed the diversity beneath the surface of the average Brit.

English country village only 42% ‘British’

As part of the first and largest DNA testing project of its kind, we collected saliva samples from almost 120 residents. Just 42% of the average villager’s DNA could be traced to Great Britain, while links to 18 separate global regions were uncovered as far afield as Melanesia in the eastern Pacific.

More in common than we are different

The research brought to life the fact that even if you took an AncestryDNA test expecting to be totally British, you could well be surprised. Charming interviews with surprised villagers also revealed unknown genetic relations that brought a tight-knit community closer together.