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The Royle Family star Sue Johnson has been left stunned to discover her connections to royalty during her appearance on ITV’s DNA Journey with Ancestry.
The actress, 80, who played Barbara Royle in the iconic BBC sitcom, was joined by onscreen husband Ricky Tomlinson, 85.
Sue, who was born in working class Lancashire, discovered that she was related to King’s horse trainer, 3rd Baronet Sir Mark Prescott.
The long term Labour voter and trade unionist support later learned that one of her ancestor was Tory MP for Tottenham William Prescott (1874-1945).
The duo, who also played husband and wife Sheila and Bobby Grant on Brookside, visited a conservative club before learning the news, as Ricky joked: ‘If it all goes wrong, can I get another car to go home in? You know, you get tarred with the same brush’.
The Royle Family star Sue Johnson has been left stunned to discover her connections to royalty during her appearance on ITV ‘s DNA Journey with Ancestry
The actress, 80, who played Barbara Royle in the iconic BBC sitcom, was joined by onscreen husband Ricky Tomlinson , 85 (pictured together on the show)
Sue, who was born in working class Lancashire, discovered that she was related to King’s horse trainer, 3rd Baronet Sir Mark Prescott (pictured)
Ricky was famously was famously sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy to intimidate and affray amid the 1972 national builders’ strike.
Sue learned that William first stood as an MP in 1918 after retunring from the First World War and championed the working class.
The actress gushed: ‘I couldn’t be prouder of him, and the qualities he had. It’s something I’d aspire to. I admire him. I am proud and very thankful.’
While Ricky said: ‘I’m shocked for someone on that side of the House to express himself in favour of the working class. I just wish we had a few more like him who would stand up and support the working class the way he did.’
And the pair were left gobsmacked when it was revealed that horse trainer Sir Mark Prescott was in fact MP William Prescott’s son.
Meanwhile in actor John Simm, 54, learned that the man he idolised and thought was his biological father, in fact, was not during his episode.
Ironically, he appeared on the show only to support his friend and fellow Life On Mars co-star Philip Glenister, 61, who played the brutal and politically incorrect DCI Gene Hunt.
The two men met 17 years ago when they became the actors behind the policing duo – and Simm said he only participated in the show so Glenister wasn’t on his own.
The long term Labour voter and trade unionist support later learned that one of her ancestor was Tory MP for Tottenham William Prescott (1874-1945)
The duo, who also played husband and wife Sheila and Bobby Grant on Brookside, visited a conservative club before learning the news, as Ricky joked: ‘If it all goes wrong, can I get another car to go home in? You know, you get tarred with the same brush’
Sue learned that William (pictured) first stood as an MP in 1918 after retunring from the First World War and championed the working class.
Simm said: ‘It’s turned out to be such a massive thing in my life and all I was doing was a favour for Phil so he didn’t have to do it on his own. It spun my world, and everything I thought I knew, wasn’t real.’
Leeds-born Simm started in the world of entertainment as a young teenager, playing guitar in a band alongside his musician father Ronald.
Ronald died in 2015 and talking about his grief, Simm once said in an interview: ‘When someone dies, you’re left with this huge black hole in your life.
‘People say, ‘You’ll get over it,’ but I don’t want to get over it. I always want to remember my dad. I’ve still got his number in my phone.
‘Every so often I see something on TV that I think he’d like and I pick up my phone to text him, still.’
On the fifth season of DNA Journey, he recalls a conversation he had with his mother before taking the test for the programme.
He said: ‘When they had me, in the Sixties, they were both young. They were together and then they split up and were both with other people and then they got back together and then they had me. And I’d never heard this story before.’
After the DNA revelation, Simm considered pulling out of the programme but decided to utilise the experts on the show to find out about his biological father.
Meanwhile in actor John Simm (R) learned that the man he idolised and thought was his biological father, in fact, was not during his episode (pictured with co-star and pal Phillip Glenister)
John Simm also learns that he has a half-sister Karen whom he meets on ITV’s DNA Journey
John Simm’s true biological father Terry Smith is pictured, as part of the DNA Journey episode
During the episode he is told that his biological father has passed away but discovers that he lived in the same area as Simm and would drink at the same working men’s clubs that he and his father played in.
‘The thing that blows my mind, me and my dad, we played around here loads of times, we definitely played here a lot and he might have been in the same pub one night and watched me play,’ he said.
‘I can’t get it out of my head, because we played this area in the 80s and he was here, and he was in working in men’s clubs. It’s one of those mad, Back To The Future, Life On Mars things.’
Father-of-two Simm also learns that he has a half-sister Karen whom he meets at the end of the episode and who shares memories with him about their biological father.
DNA Journey with Ancestry starts October 9 at 9pm on ITV
Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson’s DNA Journey airs November 16 at 9pm
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