Johnny Vegas is set to go on a journey of discovery as he finds out he is related to another star.
The St Helens born comedian always thought he was the only professional performer within his family. But on tonight's episode of ITV's DNA Journey, the 52-year-old will see that that's not true.
The ITV show, which also features Alex Brooker's journey, will follow Johnny as experts help him find out more about his family history. Using a mix of DNA and genealogy, while discovering family secrets the actor found a living cousin he never knew existed.
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Ahead of tonight's show, The Mirror reported that Johnny met with his cousin, Raymond Godwin, who is an Elvis impersonator. The long lost cousin said: "In the 80s I did indie bands. Somebody said when you sing Elvis you can sound like him, will you do it? I’ll do an Elvis. But I’m not dressing up, there’s no dignity in that.”
But four decades on, Raymond has clearly changed his mind and happily slips on his gold lame suit to entertain pub goers in St Helens. Raymond is a social worker who specialises in learning disabilities and mental health.
He said: “You see discrimination. That’s what puts fire in my belly. When you become a social worker, you get the power to change things for people. I absolutely love that.”
As part of his journey, Johnny headed south to Bristol, before moving on to Liverpool. In Merseyside, he learnt that his great grandparents Edward and Mary Ryan changed the course of UK history.
They took a teacher to court in 1938 after their 10-year-old son Patrick was hit over the head several times and lost 60% of his hearing as a result. Despite the odds being stacked against them and having little money, they won.
It paved the way for corporal punishment to be banned in schools. Johnny said: “That makes me proud."
He added: “I don’t think their ambitions were lofty. I think they’ve just gone, ‘I don’t care what’s gone before. This is wrong.’"
DNA Journey with Johnny Vegas and Alex Brooker is on ITV1 and ITVX tonight at 9pm. It continues next week.
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