Who Do You Think You Are? S20E02 - Claire Foy

Actress Claire Foy is best known for playing the young Queen Elizabeth in The Crown. Having enjoyed researching the lives of her onscreen characters, she's now looking forward to delving into the lives of her own ancestors.

Claire starts with a visit to see her mum and her 93-year-old grandad. After reminiscing about their Irish roots, her grandad tells Claire the tragic story of his father, Claire's great-grandfather, Charles Stimpson, who was killed on his motorbike. Curiously, Claire's great grandad Charles's place of birth is marked as the rather posh-sounding ‘The Castle' in Carlisle - so that's where Claire heads next.

The Castle turns out to be the site of the military barracks where her great-great-grandparents Henry and Maria Stimpson lived. It's Henry's life as a soldier that leads to another tragic story – his drowning during an off-duty cross-country race. Claire visits the river where he died and is saddened by an accident that also left a widow with five children, who were now homeless and without an income. Claire is heartened to read how the local community reacted to the tragedy, raising money to help them continue their lives.

Next, Claire investigates her paternal side. Her dad David was adopted but was reunited with his birth mother Joyce later in life. Despite having got to know Joyce, he knows nothing of her ancestors, so Claire sets out to find out more.

With help from a genealogist, Claire takes her paternal line back to her three-times great-grandparents John and Eliza Martin and is pleased to see that, just like her maternal family, her dad's line also has Irish roots - John was born in Dublin. Claire is shocked to read a local newspaper story about John's arrest in 1867 when he was accused of rioting in Manchester. Further investigation reveals that John is accused of being present during an attack on a police van transporting Fenian prisoners, in which a policeman was fatally shot. The Fenians were a secret society dedicated to overthrowing British rule in Ireland. If found guilty of this charge of joint enterprise, her three-times great grandfather John would be sentenced to death.

John and his brother William were arrested alongside many other Irish men in Manchester. Despite protesting their innocence, eyewitnesses placed them at the scene. Their trial was national news, and with the help of historian Rose Wallis, Claire slowly pieces together the story of a riveting court case. In a tense courtroom with the odds stacked against them – the lives of Claire's three-times great-grandfather John and her four-times great-uncle William hang in the balance until the stand is taken by witnesses called by the defence - including Claire's three-times great-grandmother Eliza. Thanks to the alibis provided by Eliza and the other witnesses, the brothers are found not guilty.

As she comes to the end of her journey Claire can't help but be grateful to the communities that have rallied and supported her family in times of need.