Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe DNA examined in new Channel 4 show

Channel 4 has attempted to sequence the DNA of famous figures including Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe in new show Dead Famous DNA.

The new three-part series - which has taken three years to make - sees presenter Mark Evans trying to find body parts and human relics from historical figures such as Adolf Hitler, Charles Darwin, John F Kennedy, Napoleon, Marlon Brando and King George III in an attempt to learn more about them from their DNA.

After paying $2,000 for samples of Presley's hair from his barber, the scientists found that Presley had genetic variants for migraines, obesity and glaucoma - as well as a variant known to cause a heart muscle disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The condition usually occurs in men between the ages of 20 and 40 and causes the thickening of the heart and weakening of the heart muscle. Presley is known to have suffered from some of the symptoms associated with the disease, raising fresh questions about the cause of Presley's death at the age of 42.

However, not all of the testing proved so successful, as hair samples from King George III - bought for $5,000 - turned out to be cut from a wig.

Rex Features / Everett Collection

"Whilst those addictions would not have helped, this new evidence suggests Elvis may have had a flaw in his DNA and his early death was his genetic destiny."

Meanwhile, Channel 4's head of specialist factual David Glover suggested that the show will make viewers aware of the "moral minefield" surrounding DNA testing.

"Only by showing just what science is capable of, and the potential pitfalls, can we highlight the far-reaching ethical, moral and legal implications this science could have for us all," he said.

"It has been a fascinating process and the testing provided mixed results - some disproved the claimed provenance of the DNA, some of the specimens proved untestable whilst the more conclusive data brings the potential of DNA sequencing slap bang into people's living rooms."

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Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe DNA examined in new Channel 4 show