Actor, author and historian is Sir Tony Robinson is coming to Truro to inspire people to investigate their family history.

Sir Tony, who found fame in comedy series Blackadder, has spent his latter years studying the history of the UK presenting programmes such as Time Team.

He will the guest speaker at an event on October 31 held at the Cornwall Record Office, based on the Old County Hall site in Truro.

The evening, between 6.45pm and 9.30pm, will feature talks from Cornwall Council leader John Pollard and family history website Ancestry.co.uk spokesperson Miriam Silverman, before ending in a speech from Britain’s Sir Tony.

He will explain how people can discover their family history and discuss the rich history of the local area, before taking questions from the floor. Guests will then have an opportunity to meet Sir Tony at the end of the evening.

As part of the evening there will be an opportunity for guests to tour the historical strong rooms at Cornwall Record Office and find out more about the plans for the Kresen Kernow, a new archive centre that will combine Cornwall Record Office, the Cornish Studies Library and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Historic Environment Record, planned to open in 2017.

For more information and to register to attend, visit the Ancestry.co.uk blog at http://blogs.ancestry.com/uk/. Guest list spaces at the event are limited and successful applicants will be selected on a ballot basis and notified by email.