BBC viewers were left in a state of shock on Thursday when they learned about Vicky McClure’s tragic family history during the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
The Line of Duty star, 41, retraced his relative’s past on the genealogy show, where he learned the heartbreaking fate of his great-grandfather, who was a Japanese prisoner of war in Taiwan during World War II.
In one particularly moving scene, Vicky broke down in tears after discovering how her maternal great-grandfather, Harry Millership, had died and the “horrible” hardships he had endured before his death.
And it wasn’t just Vicky who was emotional, viewers soon took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their feelings about the episode, with one commenting that it was one of the “saddest ever”.
Viewers shared: ‘Tears shed by the poor prisoners of war held in Japanese camps during World War II: an emotional sight.’
BBC viewers were left in a state of shock on Thursday when they learned about Vicky McClure’s tragic family history during the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
The Line of Duty star, 41, retraced his relative’s past on the genealogy show where he learned the heartbreaking fate of his great-grandfather (second right), who was a Japanese prisoner of war in Taiwan during World War II.
“One of the saddest episodes I’ve ever seen, but Vicky McClure is very proud of her great-grandfather. Rest in peace Harry Millership.”
‘Vicky_McClure, that was incredibly sad. God bless Harry’; ‘That’s it, I’m leaving (crying emoji)’
“I was stunned by the story of Vicky McClure’s family #whodoyouthinkyouare. Poor Harry escaped the darkness of the Yorkshire coalfield to die in a mine thousands of miles from home.”
‘@Vicky_McClure, what an emotional experience for you. He would have been proud of you and your mission. I did something similar a few years ago in the north of France and I will remember it forever.’
During the episode, she discovered the terrifying reality of the journey from Singapore (where Harry’s regiment had been stationed in 1941) to the Taiwanese prisoner of war camp where he was interned after the Japanese attacked on 8 December.
Vicky learned that Harry had been taken to an airless cellar with very few supplies and, upon arrival at the POW camp, forced to work in a copper mine.
Harry sadly died at the camp after falling 30 feet and the actress took comfort in knowing that he had died instantly.
Reflecting on her work in the spotlight, Vicky explained that she has “a very vivid imagination” and added that she is “struggling with it” as she explores Harry’s struggle 6,000 miles from home.
It wasn’t just Vicky who got emotional, tearful viewers soon took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their feelings about the episode, with one commenting that it was one of the “saddest ever”.
“My head is going in all directions and I’m finding out information that’s just horrible, and he’s my great-grandfather, he’s my mother’s grandfather, it’s too similar,” she said.
She continued: ‘I want my family to be here with me. I feel so alone in this because there’s so much to take in, but I feel terrible for feeling this way because he was alone and he didn’t come home.
“I feel connected, which is weird because I’ve never even met him.”
Vicky also admitted she was nothing like her “tough as nails” TV characters as she searched for her ancestors and travelled to a prisoner of war camp in Taiwan.
She said: “There have been a lot of things that haven’t come easy to me. Despite all the action-packed shows I do and the fact that I can seem very tough on certain things, I probably couldn’t be further from that.”
Separately, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings earlier this year, the BAFTA-winning actor spoke about another member of his family who served in World War II for an ITV documentary.
Vicky’s grandfather Ralph McLure, 97, explained how he narrowly escaped death when his landing ship was hit by enemy fire during the Normandy invasion.
Elsewhere, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings earlier this year, the BAFTA-winning actor spoke about another family member who served in World War II for an ITV documentary.
He was just 17 when he enlisted to serve in the Royal Navy and was deployed as a signaller on a landing ship tank on that historic day.
Sharing the respect she had for her grandfather and reflecting on the importance of remembering D-Day, Vicky said: ‘It’s so important to keep this history very close and make sure children know about it.
‘It’s very important that people like my grandfather can remember him and I’m sure there are many veterans who felt unable or unwilling to do so.
“So any kind of information we can get about that story is important.”