DOCUMENTARY

CIRCUS STARS Scarlett and Esmerelda

SOME kids really do get to run away with the circus – but it’s a tough life for the youngsters who live and work at a gruelling pace.

BBC1, 9pm There are plenty of surprises for Charles Dance as he learns about his family history in the return of this genealogy show.

The 70-year-old actor, who most recently played baddie Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, has made his name playing aristocrats. But he says: “There’s nothing aristocratic about me at all.”

His mother was a servant from the age of 13, an under-house parlour maid, a waitress and a housekeeper.

And Charles confesses to knowing very little about his father who died when he was just four. This series follows a well-trodden, but successful format, as they travel from archivist to expert, digging out photos and his family tree.

And it’s not long before Charles emits his first “strewth” and “good lord” as he discovers the secret lives of some of his distant relatives.

But the most poignant moment is when he learns of a freak accident that killed a five-year-old ancestor of his.

Tearing up, the dad of three (his daughter Rose is a similar age) says: “I also have a very pretty little girl. This is overwhelmingly sad.” C5, 9pm POIGNANT Charles Dance