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Cheryl Cole’s amazing discoveries about her family’s past on “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Celebrity
15 December 2016
by Ancestry Team
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Photo by David Jones / CC BY 2.0

Former Girls Aloud star and talent show judge Cheryl Cole uncovered astonishing secrets about her family’s past in the most recent episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

After admitting in an interview last year that she’d love to take part in the show, she was recruited for the show’s latest series, currently airing on the BBC.

Her long-awaited episode, which is the fourth of the season, gave Cheryl and her fans some fascinating insights into her personal family history.

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One of her long-forgotten great-grandfathers, Joseph Ridley, was revealed to be a World War I veteran. Described as a “quintessential Tommy” by the BBC, he survived one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, the Battle of the Somme.

Cheryl remarked,

“I’m really, really proud of him.”

No doubt this was quite a meaningful discovery for the star. She has long been a fan of the British military, flying out to visit troops in Afghanistan in 2011.

In an interesting twist, Joseph Ridley also ended up being a black sheep of the family, for having twins out of wedlock with his housekeeper after the death of his wife. Yes, it seems twins run in the family for the baby-bump sporting singer.

Cheryl’s family history research led to the discovery of a World War I veteran, twins in the family, a black sheep, and a Mariner great-great-grandfather.

What discoveries about your history await you? Find out with a free trial of Ancestry.

 

 

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