Kate Winslet reveals her mother urged her to contact Who Do You Think You Are? as she lay dying
CELEBS often well up after discovering an ancestor’s sad tale on Who Do You Think You Are? – but for Kate Winslet, a family tragedy led her to be in the show in the first place.
Two years ago the Titanic star’s mum Sally told her some sad but patchy facts about her Scandinavian roots.
Then after Sally died from ovarian cancer in 2017, Kate approached the BBC1 programme to help uncover the full story, and earlier this year she filmed the episode, which is set to air this month.
Following on from her mum’s story, Kate discovered her great-great-great-great grandparents Anders and Anna were starving slaves in Sweden in the early 1800s.
Their three-year-old child died of malnutrition, then Anders was cruelly punished for stealing potatoes to feed his family.
Kate told Radio Times: “I was sobbing my heart out at this point. His wife couldn’t even produce milk for their baby because she was starving.
‘SURVIVED MANY STORMS’
“And then I found out that Anders was sentenced to 35 lashes and had to stand in front of the local church to be ridiculed by everyone.
“He died in prison of typhoid before his appeal was heard.”
Kate had already had to cope with Sally’s death and she recalled: “When Mum died, it was like the North Star just dropped out of the sky. It was the hardest part of making Who Do You Think You Are?
“Mum would absolutely have come with me on the journey. She loved travelling when I was in a position to send her and Dad to nice places. She would have been part of WDYTYA, I know she would.
“I cried and cried. I cried every step of the way.”
But Kate was also relieved to find she didn’t come from a wealthy background, as she said this appealed to her family’s sense of humility.
The three-times-married actress also said tracing her Scandinavian roots gave her a greater sense of strength, adding: “It’s funny, but I really do feel like a Viking, like I could go out in a storm and survive. I feel I’ve survived many storms.”
The new series, starting on July 22, looks like the most compelling yet.
READ ON FOR MORE OF ANDY HALLS' BIZARRE TV COLUMN
soapbox
JACK finds himself in big trouble during tonight’s episode of EastEnders.
The police think he was responsible for attacking Fraser – the boy who raped Tiffany.
While he tries to reassure his niece that everything will be fine, it is clear the former copper is terrified of being arrested and sent to jail.
He even resorts to begging Denise for an alibi – but refuses to tell her why because he is keen to protect Tiffany’s secret.
Max later advises Jack to do a runner after Denise dumps him following his cloak-and-dagger behaviour.
Meanwhile in Emmerdale, Robert comes up with a new plan to bring down Lee and hires Dawn as a honey trap to tempt him into revealing his violent side.
But it all goes wrong when Lee proves rather charming and manages to get Dawn alone before Robert and Aaron have a chance to save her.
Adam is Bruno tip for Strictly
RUMOURS of who could replace Darcey Bussell on Strictly Come Dancing have been endlessly bandied about since the head judge quit earlier this year.
Now fellow judge Bruno Tonioli has added another name to the list of possibles – Aussie actor, singer and dancer Adam Garcia, who in 2013 was a judge on the Australian version of Strictly.
He was also a judge Sky 1’s Got To Dance, from 2009 to 2012 then again in 2014, alongside Ashley Banjo and Kimberley Wyat.
Bruno said: “I’d like Adam to get the job. He’s a leading man, a theatrical leading man.”
Adam became a star in the late Nineties with a single and West End show, both called Saturday Night Fever. He got his break in film starring opposite Stephen Fry in 1997 Oscar Wilde biopic Wilde, before three years later landing the leading-man role in Hollywood rom-com Coyote Ugly.
Bruno added: “I wouldn’t want to be head judge. It’s teamwork. You have to be all in it together, you can’t just be out there on your own.
“When you start going off on a tangent on your own, then it doesn’t work.”
That’s a bit rich coming from scene-stealer Bruno...
bizbit
CATHERINE Tate has signed up to reprise her role as Doctor Who’s companion in spin-off audio adventure, Donna Noble: Kidnapped. The four-parter, expected to be released next year, will see Donna take control of the Tardis.
Fury fight for limelight
TOMMY Fury is hogging the limelight on Love Island – but boxing brother Tyson can win it back when he appears on The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan.
The first show of the new series, which is being screened at 10pm this Friday on Channel 4, will see the fighter spilling the beans on his sibling.
Other guests include Jessie J and Asim Chaudhry.
most read in bizarre
Kash's car-eer lesson
THEY’VE spent 20 years working with some of the flashiest and most expensive motors in the world.
But life wasn’t always so glamorous for brothers Kash and Shabs Ahmad – the stars of BBC3’s hit show Supercar, Superfam.
Kash, who runs Kream Developments, was inspired to get into customising top-end motors after a teacher punished him in Pakistan for doodling his dream car.
In an exclusive interview, he said: “The teacher made me do the ‘hen punishment’ where you have to hook your elbows behind your knees and hold your earlobes. It’s an extremely painful position to be in for two hours. I was so infuriated and I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to have that car’ – and I still have it today.
“It’s a Nissan 300ZX and when I was 17 years old I was able to build it myself. That’s where it all started.”
Who knew a Nissan could be so inspirational.
must watch
WHAT? The Day We Walked On The Moon, ITV, 9pm.
WHY? The inside story of the first moon landing, told from the first-hand perspective of the astronauts and other key figures on the Apollo 11 mission.
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