Lesley Manville said she was left “deeply moved” by her grandparents’ love story on the new series of Who Do You Think You Are?
In her episode, set to air on the BBC on July 27, the British star learned how her maternal grandparents had both been married to and had children with other people before they welcomed her mother.
Her grandparents, James Edwards and Harriet Barton, never married and lived together with their daughter, Manville’s mother, in a tale shrouded by adultery and war-time separation.
When Edwards’ died in 1943, he referred to Harriet as his “friend” in his will while leaving all of his possessions to her, a detail that left Manville feeling “vindicated” about their relationship.
Speaking about them attempting to overcome the sigma surrounding their relationship, Manville said: “That for me was the most touching part of the story.
“There was so much stigma surrounding that relationship, wrongly so, so when the truth was revealed, I found it deeply moving. I wish my mother was still here to hear it and have her parents’ love vindicated.”
Elsewhere in the episode, she discovered that her relatives were transported to Australia in the 19th century.
The Crown actress, who portrayed Princess Margaret in Netflix series, traced her father’s line back to her three-times great grandfather, Aaron Harding, an agricultural worker in rural Hampshire.
During the episode, she learned that Harding was a father-of-nine and widower aside from his heartbreaking personal story, he was a key figure in the Swing Riots in 1830, a protest against pay and poor conditions.
However, it was his involvement in the riots that led to Harding being arrested and subsequently transported to Australia after he was given a conditional pardon, which meant he could not go back to England.
Manville also met two of her female cousins during the episode, who showed her a copy of an inquest report by a South Australian newspaper, The Adelaide Times, that said he died in an accident. He had also fathered a child with a woman named Alice, who was married to another man.
Reflecting on uncovering Harding’s past, Manville described the experience as “epic”.
She said: “They were a huge part of history that I’d only learnt about in school. Their treatment was shocking given that the Swing Rioters were only fighting for basic human rights.
“My heart went out to Aaron’s nine children who were left to fend for themselves. Their mother had died a short time before. Utterly heartbreaking.”
