HISTORY LESSONS
The Chase’s Shaun Wallace and Anne Hegerty uncover the truth about their ancestors in a new series of DNA Journey
DNA Journey returns this week with three new celebrity duos embarking on the road trip of a lifetime. Ice skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, actresses Maureen Lipman and Rula Lenska and The Chase stars Anne Hegerty and Shaun Wallace will delve deeper into their ancestral history than they ever thought possible.
First up on their journey of discovery are Anne and Shaun, who start their mission at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock. Despite initially thinking they’re there to learn more about Shaun,
Anne – in true Chaser style – quickly deciphers some clues and figures out that she’s the one who has the Liverpudilian link.
A dive into Anne’s history unveils a great-grandfather with connections to the RMS Lusitania – famously sunk by a German U-boat in the
First World War – and the luxury ocean liner RMS Mauretania.
She learns her great-grandad’s heroic story and meets more of his living relatives, including a decorated lieutenant in the Navy.
Reflecting on her experience, she says, “I knew there was someone in my family who was on the Lusitania and survived. I had no idea I had any Liverpool connections. I’m related to a bloke with medals and everything. How cool is that?”
The pair’s quest then takes them from Liverpool to Ocho Rios in
Jamaica. There, they learn more about Shaun’s past dating back to the 1700s, before the abolition of the slave trade.
A poignant meeting with a genealogist reveals that his sixth great-grandmother was sold to the owners of Southfield Estate, St Ann. Further examination brings to light a heartbreaking revelation that Shaun struggles to get his head around.
“We can’t rewrite history, but I will always feel the injustice – not only in relation to how my family were treated but how Black people were treated – and that sense of revulsion, horror.
But it’s something I can’t change.
I’m glad I know about it,” he says.
Shaun and Anne visit the estate to learn more and gain a better understanding of what life was like for his ancestors.
“This must be the opportunity of a lifetime,” Shaun says. “I’m not the type to get emotional – that’s part of my training as a lawyer. But to actually know the history, and go back in time to appreciate their strength, courage and fortitude… It’s very emotional.”