Global 'DNA database' created by home test kits probed in BBC series
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The woman used a DNA home test kit supplied by Ancestry (file image) to try to find out who her real father was, after being told by her mother that he was a young medical student who had donated sperm.

A shocked woman discovered with an at-home DNA test that her real father was a removals man from Essex whose sperm had been used without his permission by a Harley Street fertility doctor.

The disturbing story is set to be revealed in The Gift, a new BBC radio series which will air from next Monday.

It explores how millions of Britons and others across the world have taken tests sold by firms including Ancestry.co.uk and 23andMe, often after being given them as presents from friends and family.

It’s a classic sensationalist (and over-long, I had to cut it in half) headline from the Daily Fail but it’s a pretty shocking story of sperm theft but all properly researched and soberly presented and I’d recommend that you listen to the Radio 4 episode, it’s a real rollercoaster ride.

The premise of the series is that a lot of British people have taken home DNA tests for genealogical purposes and, while everyone is warned to be careful in case you uncover some hidden family secret, there are some extreme cases which are even more unexpected.