A spy in the family
MY GRANDPARENTS’ WAR Channel 4, 9pm
ANCESTRY shows are always a winning formula – perhaps even more so when huge A-list names are involved.
After series one deep-dived into the history of Hollywood stars like Kristin Scott Thomas, series two continues with an equally stellar bunch.
Tonight it’s the turn of Game Of Thrones star Kit Harington to unravel a few family secrets. He’s famed for playing a medieval warrior and has been cast as a spy but, it appears, Kit’s illustrious career isn’t half as exciting as the lives of some of his relatives.
On his dad’s side of the family, his grandparents John and Lavender (Lally) both worked for the British Secret Service in crucial roles.
Historians reveal John was not only a spy, but also a spy-catcher, working for both MI5 and MI6.
And it just gets better. After being recruited by Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division, John was sent to the Caribbean to keep a watchful eye on none other than the former King of England, Edward VIII.
Edward, then the Duke of Windsor, had been appointed Governor of the Bahamas in 1940 after abdicating the throne four years earlier so he would be free to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson.
But after the pair became known Nazi sympathisers it was deemed too great a risk to have them in Britain, so they were kept at arms’ length abroad.
Through John’s top secret work, it is almost certain he would have met another famous Naval Intelligence Division spy – none other than Ian Fleming who wrote James Bond.
Relishing the news, Kit jokes: “In a really roundabout way [John] Harington might have inspired Bond.”
Kit’s equally overjoyed when a historian tells him: “Your grandfather was this kind of James Bond character.”
As if Kit needs any more kudos, maybe he’s now at the front of the queue for the next 007 casting…