Rose Ayling-Ellis has captured our hearts once again, this time on Who Do You Think You Are?
The EastEnders star and Strictly champ heads on a personal journey to uncover her family history, with rumours of Italian ancestry.
Rose kicks things off in Kent. Her mum reveals an old photograph of Rose’s three-time great-grandmother, who supposedly ran a pub in Birmingham with an iron fist.
Enter local historian Simon Briercliffe, who helps Rose identify her ancestor as Agnes Chilton.
Through trade directories and census returns, they discover that Agnes and her husband Alfred ran a pub and were once embroiled in a row with a customer that led to a court appearance—talk about EastEnders plotlines in real life!
When Alfred died at just 48, Agnes moved on, running the Aston Tavern as her own.
In a delightful twist, Rose finds out that the current landlord of the Aston Tavern has named rooms after past landlords, including Agnes.
Shifting gears, Rose heads to Somerset to explore her paternal lineage.
At her dad’s house, her grandma tells her that her great-grandfather came from a whopping family of 17 children.
She doesn’t know much else, except that Rose’s great-great-grandfather James Welland lost his hand in an accident.
Following the family rumour that it was a railway accident, Rose heads to the Great Western Railway Museum.
Sure enough, records confirm that James was injured while working on the railroads.
He tried to claim compensation but was unsuccessful—a familiar story for many workers of that era.
Next, Rose traces her family to Exeter, where she learns that James and his family once lived in an empty wing of a workhouse.
Rose’s grandma had recalled them living in a squat, but it turns out they were renting, even though eviction attempts were frequent.
Eventually, they moved to a newly built council house, where James lived until his death.
Finally, Rose tackles the Italian connection.
Genealogist Lucy Browne helps trace Rose’s ancestors back three generations, but all were born in Devon.
However, Rose lights up when she discovers her four-time great-grandfather, Pasquel Lyons, had an unmistakably Italian name.
Historian Dr Oskar Jensen reveals a census record showing Pasquel’s place of birth as Italy.
Rose’s heart soars as she finally confirms her Italian heritage.
Driving through Exmoor, Rose reflects on her family’s incredible resilience, feeling closer to them than ever before.
Who Do You Think You Are? airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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