When Patrick Brammall and his wife, Harriet Dyer, adopted their daughter Joni in 2021, it made Patrick think about family.
“Because we have a non-biological child, my line will stop with me,” Patrick says in this week’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
“And, I guess, that’s why I’m thinking about genes and also upbringing – you know, nature versus nurture, that classic debate.”
The 49-year-old actor and writer tells TV WEEK that, even before he became a dad, he’d been keen to find out more about his ancestry.
“I’ve always been interested in my family history, but never had the wherewithal to do the research,” he explains. “When the producers asked if I was interested, I leapt at the opportunity.”
Growing up in Canberra, Patrick remembers a family story that an ancestor on his mother’s side had come to Australia from somewhere in Asia, perhaps Vietnam. In fact, Patrick’s mother and her brother said they were teased at school for ‘looking Asian’.
“My Uncle David alluded to it as a possibility, a family secret, but nobody had ever talked about it seriously,” Patrick says. “I didn’t actively pursue the truth about it, but it was the most interesting story in the family line. Once I did learn the truth, I had to think about why this information was lost to us.”
He says he feels that what he learnt about his ancestral family history in the show “resonates with my own life”.
“It resonates because my daughter is adopted,” Patrick says in the episode. “She’s half African-American. I love my daughter so much. And I love that there’s an echo of that in my own family.”
Also in the episode, Patrick learns that his great-grandfather on his father’s side was known for his physical strength – he could carry a small donkey on his shoulders – as well as his strength of character. Patrick believes that strength was passed down to his descendants.
“Certainly to his daughter, Eileen, my grandmother, who we called Gaddy,” he adds. “She was a formidable woman, very strong, and she loved fiercely. I see it in her children – my dad being the eldest of eight – and I’d like to think my siblings and I got some, too.”
Joni was his only child when Patrick was filming Who Do You Think You Are? He and Harriet are now parents to two girls – the couple announced the arrival of their second daughter, Mabel, in February of this year.
“We love her so much and we’re all very grateful,” Harriet wrote on Instagram.
Mabel’s arrival was followed by the announcement of a third season of Colin from Accounts, the hit comedy that Patrick and Harriet created, write and star in.
Season two aired last year and finished with an awkward marriage proposal. With an ending like that, the couple admit it would have been ‘weird’ not to make another season. Patrick tells TV WEEK that they’ve been making progress on the writing.
“We’re plotting it right now, close to going to script,” he says.
As to whether having a toddler and a baby in the house makes it hard to find time to write, Patrick replies with one emphatic word: “Yes!”
Although usually based in Los Angeles, the family is in Australia at the moment. Patrick is spending a few months working on a thriller called The Dispatcher, which also stars Brendan Cowell, Daniel Henshall and UK star Maxine Peake.
“I’m very excited to be doing it, and with a top-drawer team,” he says. “And, of course, we’ll be back in Sydney soon enough to shoot season three of Colin from Accounts.”
For Patrick, making Who Do You Think You Are? was a powerful experience. There were plenty of moments when he got emotional.
“It was a lot to discover and process in a short amount of time, and it all happened on camera,” he explains. “The producers set it up that way for a reason!”
Now he’s looking forward to sitting down and watching the episode with his family when it goes to air.
“I don’t remember ugly crying,” he laughs. “So I think it’ll be okay.”
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