Paddy McGuinness uncovers family secrets on Who Do You Think You Are?

Paddy McGuinness has always been a bit in the dark about his family roots.

Apart from knowing one grandparent’s name, the presenter, actor, and comedian didn’t have much to go on.

But with a surname like McGuinness, he figured there must be some Irish roots in the mix.

Tonight’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (22 August 2024) takes Paddy on a journey to uncover his family’s hidden past, starting from Bolton and stretching all the way to the west coast of Ireland.

Paddy, born and bred in Bolton, has already lost both his parents, so his quest for answers begins with his mum’s brother, Uncle Tony.

Tony admits the family never really talked about their past, but he does reveal one crucial detail: Paddy’s grandfather was called James Leonard.

James lived in Bolton, but Tony doesn’t know much about his childhood.

Determined to dig deeper, Paddy teams up with genealogist and historian Michala Hulme.

Their search uncovers the names of Paddy’s great-grandparents, Patrick and Annie Leonard.

But the more they dig, the more they learn about the hardships James endured as a child, including a tragic story of domestic abuse and time spent in a Cottage Home, which was meant to shield children from the poor influence of their workhouse-inmate parents.

Despite this tough start, James managed to build a life for himself, working as a miner and later as a handle rectifier at an aeroplane factory during World War II.

Paddy is moved to learn that his grandfather played a significant role in the war effort, helping to keep the RAF in the air by working on vital propeller repairs.

With his maternal line traced back to Ireland, Paddy now turns his attention to his father’s side—the McGuinnesses—hoping to finally uncover that Irish connection.

Starting from scratch, Paddy meets historian Charlotte Wildman in Macclesfield, where he discovers that his paternal grandfather was called William McGuinness.

William was born in Bolton, but instead of Irish roots, Paddy finds out that William served in the army and travelled extensively, including a stint in South Africa during the Boer War.

At the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, military historian Peter Donaldson gives Paddy a glimpse into the brutal reality of the Boer War and hands him a medal that once belonged to his grandfather—a moment that gives Paddy a profound connection to a man he never knew.

Still searching for that elusive Irish link, Paddy digs even deeper.

With the help of genealogist Laura Berry, he learns that his great-grandfather was actually William Birtwistle, who was Bridget McGuinness’s lodger when she gave birth to Paddy’s grandfather.

Reflecting on this twist, Paddy realises he could have easily been a Birtwistle instead of a McGuinness.

The breakthrough finally comes when a baptism certificate reveals that Paddy’s great-grandmother Bridget McGuinness was born in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland.

In the final leg of his journey, Paddy visits Ballina and discovers that his ancestors were weavers, living alongside none other than the ancestors of US President Joe Biden.

In the 1830s, with the linen trade in decline, Paddy’s family, like many others, migrated to the booming textile towns of north-west England, eventually settling in Bolton—the place Paddy has always called home.