‘Everyone
was loved...even if their time
ended sadly,it was worth
having’A
s he explores his ancestry in the
opening episode of the hit series,
Daniel Radcliffe learns about
characters whose stories are almost
as dramatic at the adventures of the boy
wizard who made Daniel a star.
On his mother’s side there’s Sam, his
great grandfather, who had been a
successful jeweller in London’s Hatton
Garden. Following a robbery at his shop, and
fearing that the insurance company wouldn’t
pay out, Sam killed himself. Reading the
suicide note that he penned to his beloved
wife Raie, Daniel’s clearly moved: ‘Anyone
can back themselves into a corner and it’s
hard to feel angry at someone for that.’
To add to the tragedy, the insurance
company did eventually settle the claim.
‘You want to just reach into
the past and go, “Whatever
you’re going through, you have
so much to offer the people who
are around you... And they still
would all have loved you.”’
On his father’s side, Daniel
learns about his paternal
great-great uncles, four brothers who fought
in WWI. When he starred in the WWI drama
My Boy Jack, Daniel kept a picture of one of
them – Ernie – with him, to feel a personal
connection to the period.
A letter reveals that when Ernie was
wounded, his own brother, Joe – in the same
regiment – carried him to the medics.
In Northern Ireland, from where the family
hails, the genealogist with Daniel shows hima record of a marriage on Valentine’s Day in- Ernie was on leave and married his
sweetheart, Jeannie.
But in the same church, a roll of honour
shows that Ernie was later killed in action.
‘A lot of very sad things have happened to
various parts of my family, but I can’t be sad
about it,’ concludes Daniel. ‘Everyone was
loved... and ultimately that means that, even
if their time on earth ended prematurely and
sadly, it was worth having.’
Spellbound by the past
As Who Do You Think You Are? returns, Harry
Potter star Daniel Radcliffe delves into his family
history and uncovers tragedy on both sides...
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Mon 9pm BBC1 NEW
Wandering back
in time... Harry
Potter actor
Daniel Radcliffe