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Who Do You Think You Are?
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H-E-N-E-R-Y, he's Henery the Eighth, he is. Carrot-topped comedian Josh Widdicombe must realise now that the truth about his ancestry has been staring at him in the mirror all his life.
A rollicking paper trail led him, as Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1) returned, to Hampton Court during the English Civil War and then to Westminster Abbey, where he discovered that one of his forebears was Mary Boleyn — sister of the ill-fated Anne.
Mary was one of Henry VIII's many mistresses, and historical rumour has it that he fathered her eldest daughter . . . Josh's 12 times great-grandmother.
So that's where the hair came from. If the 38-year-old panel game regular piled on a few stone and grew a half-moon beard, the resemblance might be even stronger. No one could blame his missus for feeling nervous.
The disbelief on Josh's face as each new revelation unfurled on scrolls of parchment was a delight to behold, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS
The disbelief on Josh's face as each new revelation unfurled on scrolls of parchment was a delight to behold. His jaw was hanging open in Hever Castle — family seat of the Boleyns — as he learned his line went back to the 13th century's King Philippe of France . . . his 24 times great-grandfather. 'Proper blue blood,' whistled Josh.
The producers, who knew the spectacular lineage long before Josh did, were having great fun too, throwing out hints. The most intriguing was a portrait of Josh's 12 times great-gran, Lettice Knollys, a Tudor
