CHARLES DANCE

He may have played kings, but the actor wants to reconnect with his humble origins

MOST FAMOUS FOR

The 14th series of Who Do You Think You

Are? kicks off on Thursday 6 July with an episode featuring actor Charles Dance.

Originally trained as a graphic designer, the star’s big break came in the 1984 series

The Jewel of the Crown, when he won widespread acclaim for his performance as the dashing Sergeant Guy Perron.

Since then Charles has made a name for himself by playing ruthless villains and stuffy aristocrats, including the tyrannous Tywin Lannister in HBO fantasy epic Game

of Thrones and Lord Stockbridge in Oscar-winning drama Gosford Park.

Other notable credits to the star’s name include Alistair Denniston in The Imitation

Game and even a minor turn as henchman Claus in For Your Eyes Only – the 12th entry in the James Bond canon.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Born in Redditch in 1946, Charles and his half brother Michael were raised by their mother, Eleanor, who worked as an under-house parlour maid.

Firmly believing that he belongs “downstairs, rather than upstairs”, the star sets out to see whether he comes from a long line of servants or if there is any noble stock lurking in his maternal family tree, revealing a surprise connection to Belgium.

Charles also decides to research his father, Walter, who died when the actor was only four years old and whose life largely remains a mystery.