On the next episode of DNA Journey, airing on ITV on Wednesday 16 October, actors Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston will trace their family history together.
Ricky and Sue became friends when they played a married couple in their native Liverpool on TV soap Brookside in the 1980s, before going on to star on the sitcom The Royle Family together. They bonded over a strong sense of social justice and interest in political campaigning.
As a proud Liverpudlian, Ricky thinks his family’s roots have always been in the city. But for the first step on their journey, he and Sue go to Ambleside in the Lake District. Ricky is surprised to learn that his 3x great grandfather James Hunter was born there. James founded a successful tailor’s business, and played an important role in campaigning against poverty in the town.
“This explains everything about you,” Sue tells Ricky. “All the mixtures of things that you are – his creativity, his love of art… And also social justice beats at the heart of him.”
Ricky agrees that he’s “thrilled to bloody bits” to learn he’s descended from James.
Next, Sue gets her DNA test result back. She and Ricky are disappointed to hear that she’s related to a Conservative MP! Her first cousin twice removed was William Prescott, the MP for Tottenham North. However, William wasn’t a typical Conservative. He grew up in poverty in St Helens, Merseyside and served in the Royal Engineers in the First World War. As an MP he campaigned for better housing for poor people, leading to the 1919 Housing Act. After he left politics, he became a senior civil engineer. In 1938, he was made a baronet.
Sue and Ricky also get to meet William’s grandson Sir Mark Prescott, the current 3rd Baronet of Godmanchester, who is trainer to the King’s horses. Sue and Ricky have a video call with Mark and hear his memories of William.
Next, they go to Moffat in Scotland. Sue knows that she has Scottish ancestry on her mother’s side of the family, which the DNA test confirmed. Sue found out about her great grandfather James Cowan on her episode of Who Do You Think You Are?,but she’s now able to trace back three more generations of Cowans from Moffat and visit their graves in the town cemetery, including a Peter Cowan who died in 1647.
“That is amazing,” Sue says. “It’s a privilege. Thank you so much.”
Back in Liverpool, Ricky and Sue go to the city’s Maritime Museum, where they meet family history expert Brad Argent. He tells them that Ricky’s 4x great uncle Joseph Cunningham emigrated from Liverpool to America with his family in 1841. The family settled in New York State, where Joseph became a minister. Among his children was his daughter Jane. She became a journalist writing for the New York Tribune, which was almost unheard-of for women at the time, and wrote in support of women’s rights. Jane was so influential that she was one of a small number of women inducted into America’s National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Reflecting on everything they’ve learned, Sue says: “I know how much social justice matters to you, and I think you know it does to me. Everybody we’ve met on both sides has been involved, and I feel really proud.”
