Vicky McClure shares tragic family death in emotional TV moment
Vicky McClure has shared details of a tragic family death, saying that her “head was all over the place” in an emotional television moment.
The star, best known for her roles in Line of Duty and Trigger Point, was the first celebrity to appear in the 21st series of Who Do You Think You Are?, the BBC documentary series that sees individuals trace their family history.
At the outset of the episode, McClure revealed that she wanted to seek more information on her great-grandfather Harry Millership, who she said had died in a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War.
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Throughout the journey, McClure voyaged to Taiwan, where she discovered that Harry had been transported to a camp via boat from Singapore, with the Japanese army subjecting their captives to inhumane conditions.
“There’s a reason I’m an actor and it’s because I have a very vivid imagination – sometimes I battle with that and I’m battling with it here,” she remarked. “My head is all over the shop – I’m learning information that is horrific. It’s my mum’s grandad, and my great-grandad – it’s too close.
“I want my family here with me. I feel really alone in this because it’s so much to take in, yet I feel terrible for feeling like that because he was alone and didn’t make it home. I feel connected, which is weird because I never even met him.”
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Upon entering the mine where Harry was forced to undertake strict labour, McClure discovered that he was the first to die of the captives, with his cause of death being listed as a fractured skull after a fall.
“I’m glad that he didn’t have to endure,” she shared. “I knew today was going to be a tough day… It has got me thinking about my Nan. She was a hard character but she was unhappy – I would be if I knew this happened to my Dad.”
Who Do You Think You Are? airs on BBC One.
If you identify with the themes in this article, the NHS has resources available to help with grief counselling and other support in the UK. In the US, the CDC also has resources available for those grieving.
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