Layton Williams bursts into tears over ‘awful’ truth about enslaved ancestors on BBC Who Do You Think You Are?
Layton Williams was moved to tears during an emotional episode of Who Do You Think You Are? after discovering his ancestors were enslaved.
The 30-year-old West End performer and Bad Education actor broke down as he learned the sobering truth about his family history on the BBC One genealogy programme.
Williams, who was a runner-up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, travelled to Jamaica to explore his father’s side of the family tree where he made the unsettling discovery.
The Olivier Award-winning star was visibly emotional as he processed the revelation that his ancestors had been forcibly taken from Africa to Jamaica.
During his journey, Williams discovered that his three-times great-grandmother and her family were enslaved from Africa, with even a four-month-old baby ancestor listed in the slave register for the plantation where they were held.
He learned that his great-great-grandmother worked as a washerwoman who strived to build a better life for her family after her father, Alexander Denton, was born into slavery in 1825.
Williams also discovered that Alexander’s mother Jessie was born in Africa but was forcibly taken to Jamaica.
The actor had previously visited Jamaica but expressed discomfort at being a tourist there due to Jamaican laws regarding LGBTQ+ people.
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Reflecting on the discovery, Williams said: “I’m feeling a mixture of feelings really, like a bag of feelings. When you’re a person of colour you always know that that is probably the eventuality.”
He continued tearfully: “There’s so much Black power in that and I don’t think, I’ve been really, really proud of being a person of colour and really leaning into ‘I’m a beautiful Black man and I’m proud to have come from people who went through that and came through the other side’. Now I’m going to cry.
“It’s really beautiful and it’s important that we don’t forget because it’s real and it happened and it was sad and I’m sure it was awful,” he added.
While exploring his mother’s side of the family, Williams also uncovered strong connections to both East and South London, which held special significance for him.
“If there’s history of my family in London, that’s kind of iconic because it was the first place that accepted me,” he said at the start of the episode.
He was briefly concerned when learning his five-times great-grandfather had been sent to prison, asking: “Did he kill someone? I was like oh my gosh, not a murderer!”
Williams was relieved to discover his ancestor had actually been sent to debtors’ prison.
He was particularly delighted to learn one relative had worked as a piano tuner in Golden Square.
“But we made it here and my family is actually bonkers but they’re amazing,” Williams said proudly.
He continued: “There’s so many of us and I really hope that whatever they went through, we were kind of worth it, you know.”
Beaming about his London connection, he added: “I felt at home anyway, but now I’m like, this is just home.”
The episode featuring Layton Williams aired on BBC One on Monday, 12 May. The current series has already featured emotional moments from other celebrities, including Ross Kemp, who broke down while uncovering his own family secrets.