Jeremy Paxman weeps over tragic ancestor

I expect most UK listers will have seen the stories in today's
national papers over Jeremy Paxman supposedly breaking down in
tears over learning in the new series of Who Do You Think You Are
that his gt-gt-gt-grandmother died in poverty at only 36 of TB? For

Carol Yellowley...

Roy,
I suppose we could say that Paxo's had the stuffing knocked out of him -
boom boom!

CWatters...

Oh very good. LOL.

Adelaide

overseas listers to whom the name of Jeremy Paxman may not be so
familiar, he is widely known here as our toughest and most abrasive
TV interviewer who has been known almost to reduce politicians to
tears. You can find the story on the web just by entering his name.

Charani...

8>< snipped

Maybe he needs a counsellor.

I'm afraid the story had me in stitches ! I wonder what Paxman would
do if he was a proper family historian who came across these tragic
tales of ancestors every day of the week?

I recently published in Practical Family History the ancestry of
Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the former Speaker of the House of Commons
and first woman ever to hold the post. I discovered her maternal
grandmother had an illegitimate child before marriage that died at
only a few months old, after marriage she then lost another child in
infancy and died herself at only 25 of TB. When I related this to
Betty Boothroyd and asked if she minded whether I mentioned it in
the article (especially the illegitimate child), she replied like a
true Yorkshirewoman: "Of course not - tell it like it is, warts and
all." She didn't break down and blub!

Peter Goodey...

Betty Boothroyd knows precisely why she first entered politics. She already
knew that that sort of thing happened among her sort of people. The news

roy...

I find it hard to believe that discovering a gt-gt-gt-grandmother
died in poverty at 36 would come as very much of a shock to someone
like Jeremy Paxman, either. Isn't he supposed to be a battle-hardened
newsman?

Jill....

It does depend a lot on the journey to the discovery
Maybe it just shows he is human beneath all of that bluster
:~)

Roy Stockdill

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."

Oscar Wilde

may not have been as much of a shock to her as it might be to some people.

Frankly, I suspect a mocked-up scene for the cameras, so the BBC
could have a nice story to give the papers to launch the new series
with!

Nick...

beekers...

Admit I did a bit of a gulp on receiving the previous post, but - of
course :-)
Kind regards...barbara

Barbara Kolle
E-mail beekers@optusnet.com.au
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://member.melbpc.org.au/~dkolle

Does anyone know when she was born and died?

CWatters...

Perhaps, but who knows what stress he has been under recently.

Roy Stockdill

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."

Oscar Wilde