Actress Lesley Manville broke down in tears on Who Do You Think You Are? as she learned the image she’d had of her grandfather her whole life was completely wrong.
The Crown star Lesley appeared on the most recent episode of the BBC ancestry-searching show, and met with a historian who told her more about her complex family story.
“So what I found out this morning was that my maternal grandfather, James, was married to a lady called Mabel,” the actress explained.
She continued: “And I had no idea that he and Mabel had children because my mother certainly never talked about it.”
Lesley soon discovered James was absent during the time the register had been taken because he’d been in the army.
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The historian had more details for Lesley to piece together as she showed her another document.
After a quick glance, Lesley gasped: “Oh my goodness, Mabel has had a child with Frederick, who’s the lodger!”
She added: “Well, let’s not forget there was a war, and war must make people have some sense of abandonment, you don’t know if you’re going to live the night, you seize a moment of romance, passion…
“Because your husband might never come back, you might die tomorrow.”
Lesley then found out this is the point her grandfather got involved with her grandmother, Harriet.
Divorce hadn’t been an option for the two couples because as working-class people, ending a marriage was too expensive, so the two couples continued to live together, with James and Mabel still technically married.
The next document the actress saw was a will from James.
Earlier in the episode, Lesley had explained how she thought of her grandfather as an unpleasant person, but she was left in tears as she read the moving document.
She read aloud: “I give devise and bequeath everything of which I shall die possessed to my friend…”
Lesley had to pause as she sobbed and continued: “Harriet.”
She added: “The word ‘sweet’ doesn’t do it, does it? It’s very sweet. I mean what more would you want from a partner in life than for them to say that you’re their friend?”
As she wiped away tears she continued: “It’s sort of demystified a lot of really based-on-nothing opinions I had about Grandad.
“Because my mother just used to say, ‘Oh, he was very strict,’ and I have this image of this rather austere man who was a bit impenetrable and a bit cold, I suppose.
“But clearly… I want to come to the conclusion that Harriet was his big love and his friend, that’s just absolutely wonderful.”
Who Do You Think You Are? is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.