Craig Revel Horwood learns about his roots on Who Do You Think You Are?
Craif Revel Horwood is pleased to discover there is some ‘theatricality’ in his family’s past.
Craig Revel Horwood is delighted to discover he had a champion clog dancer in the family as he investigates his ancestry on BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?
The Strictly Come Dancing star, 52, flies to his home town of Ballarat in Australia for the first time since his father died in 2015, to find out more about his predecessors.
His search reveals that his great-great grandfather Harry Macklin Shaw – who came from the cotton mill town of Ashton-under-Lyne in north west England before settling in New South Wales – was an emcee at local events and a champion clog dancer.
“There is – finally – some theatricality in my blood!” exclaimed the star.
He said: “He went to the big smoke to make it; that was Sydney of course. And I was in Ballarat, and I moved to what I called the big smoke, which was Melbourne. So to think that my great-great grandfather had done the same thing is just madness!”
Revel Horwood learns more about clog dancing and eventually gets to see a medal which reveals that his great grandfather was the clog dancing champion of Australasia in 1871.
He said: “I wanted to follow my heart, my passion, my dreams of dancing, and it’s just amazing to know that that actually runs in the family and in the blood. So it really has put a new twist on who I think I am.”
Revel Horwood also discovers that his great-great grandfather was an English petty criminal called Moses Horwood, who was transported as a convict in 1841.
His great-great-great grandfather Charles Tinworth went to Australia from Essex in 1854 during the Australian Gold Rush hoping to strike it rich, but went bankrupt after 10 years as a prospector.
Tinworth persevered and after 20 years of mining, finally did strike it rich, mining a 250 ounce gold nugget worth a quarter of a million pounds today.
Revel Horwood said: “I think my dad would be so proud of his forefathers too, I just wish he was here now to see all of this.”
:: Craig Revel Horwood’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs at 9pm on BBC1 on Thursday.
