TV Times – 10 August 2019

12 TV TIMES

K

ate Winslet is one

of Hollywood’s

most successful

stars, with a

career including

blockbuster films such as

Titanic and Sense and Sensibility,

as well as a Best Actress Oscar for

drama The Reader in 2009.

But as she looks into her family

tree for this week’s episode of

BBC1’s Who Do You Think You

Are?, she is keen to dispel commonly

held assumptions that she comes

from well-to-do stock.

‘I ain’t posh, mate,’ she laughs.

‘I was born in Reading and my

parents never had money; it was

always a struggle. Our family of six

lived in a rented home. My dad

Roger, who was an actor, always

had to get whatever odd job he

could. So I’m not posh at all!’

As she explores her Swedish and

British ancestry, Kate, 43, discovers

that those humble roots go back

several generations as she unearths

stories of poverty, tragedy and

triumph over adversity.

Here, she reveals what she learnt

about her fascinating heritage...

What was your family life like

when you were growing up?

We were very happy. My mum Sally

absolutely loved children and that

sense of family has carried on in all

of us. She was an amazing lady but

she died two years ago of ovarian

cancer and we all

miss her terribly

• she was the
  true centre of
  the family.

Why did you

want to look into

your ancestry?

Since my mum

died, I just wanted

to know more about

where I come from

on both sides. Mum

didn’t talk about her

family history much,

but I remembered

a rumour about a

Scandinavian link and

when I was younger

people said we looked

Scandinavian! It’s

something I’ve always

wanted to know about.

I visited Sweden when

I was about six because

my parents had friends

who lived there and

I remember learnin g to

swim in a lake. And now

I’ve discovered ancestors who were

100 per cent Swedish – it’s brilliant!

You visited Halland in Sweden,

where you traced your maternal

four-times great-grandfather

Anders Jönsson. He worked

in the stables on a country

estate, but was caught stealing

and later died in prison in the

1830s. That must have been

tough to hear about...

I didn’t expect it, it was very sad.

They were only paid in tokens to

use in the estate store, which was

terrible. For a man with a family,

Anders must have felt like there

was never any way out because it

wasn’t possible to save money and

move away. He was only a year

younger than me and he stole

because he was starving and his

youngest child had already died.

I would have stolen as well. He was

doing the right thing for his family.

Did you feel for his wife Anna?

Oh, it’s just not fair. She must have

been in pieces losing her child and

then her husband and being left

with four other children. I felt sick

and angry. Her son, Johan, my

great-great-great-

grandfather, would have been five,

nearly six, the same age as my

youngest son, Bear [with third

husband Edward Abel Smith], and

I couldn’t stand the thought of Bear

being without his dad.

As a family, you are going to pay

tribute to Anders, aren’t you?

Yes, my sister, Beth, has said that

we’re going to call 3 April, the day

he was buried, ‘Anders Day’ and

just have a day of being thankful

for everything we have because it

was so hard for him.

Did you discover any happiness

or financial success for that line

of your family?

I just wanted to hear anything nice!

I discovered that Johan went on to

act out of desperation in a difficult

situation too, as he was discharged

from his job as a rating [a non-

commissioned sailor] in the

Swedish navy for embezzling. But

he later became a tailor, a skill he

then taught his son, my great-

great-grandfather Alfred Lidman,

who became a successful tailor on

Savile Row in London. So I saw

how things can change. I liked

the sound of Alfred and admired

his courage to seek his life here.

On your dad’s side, you found

out your three-times great-

grandfather, William

Colquhoun, became a

drummer with the Grenadier

Guards in London in 1810,

when he was aged just 11.

Was that a surprise to you?

I wondered whether having

that job was even allowed at

that age! But I loved that he

was making something of

his life through hard work,

diligence, commitment and

his musical talent – I

can barely play a recorder!

As an adult, William eventually

supervised Army punishments,

including whippings, and he

was later the principal warder

at Dartmoor Prison in Devon in

the 1850s. Did you have mixed

feelings about him when you

learnt about that part of his life?

Yes, I wanted to unhear what he

did in the Army, it was hideous,

but I’m sure he took no pleasure

in it. I felt conflicted about him,

though, and the man he perhaps

was because he’d been exposed to

such violence. So when I visited

Dartmoor, I feared the worst,

but it was a pleasant surprise.

I was impressed by what they

were doing there back then,

because it was progressive and

I discovered William took great

pleasure in that. I was proud.

What are the most important

things you’ll take from the show?

Knowing all this information now

overwhelms me. My mum’s side

is a story of survival and people

carrying on in the face of incredible

tragedy. But I also felt a connection

with William Colquhoun. It makes

me feel as though I fit somewhere

more. I really know now where

I came from and that’s wonderful.

I always strive to remain grounded

and to pass that on to my kids

[along with Bear, Kate has Mia, 1 8 ,

with first husband Jim Threapleton,

and Joe, 15, with second husband

Sam Mendes]. But because I come

from such beginnings, maybe that

is actually in my DNA.

CAREN CLARK

PH

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WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

IS PREVIEWED ON PAGES 48-

Hollywood star Kate Winslet

on finding stories of tragedy

and triumph in her family tree

FACTUAL

Who Do You

Think You Are?

MONDAY / BBC1 / 9PM

FACTUAL

Setting sail:

With co-star

Leonardo

DiCaprio

in 1998’s

Titanic

Oscar winner:

Kate with

her parents

Roger

and Sally

in 2009