Brian Blessed Shocked By Unexpected Family Reunion

Brian Blessed Shocked By Unexpected Family Reunion | Who Do You Think You Are

Рет қаралды 356,861

4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed finds out more about his great-great grandfather’s life with his 13 children before learning that his brother, who he was separated from at the workhouse, makes a reappearance in his life.
▶ SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE 🔔 : bit.ly/WDYTYAyt
Check out our podcast 👉 bit.ly/WhoDoPodcast
📺 All episodes of Who Do You Think You Are are now available on iPlayer bbc.in/3Wiqs9w
▶ J.K. Rowling | Who Do You Think You Are?: bit.ly/JKRowIing
▶ David Tennant | Who Do You Think You Are?: bit.ly/DavidTenn
▶ Martin Freeman | Who Do You Think You Are?: bit.ly/MartinFre
▶ Graham Norton | Who Do You Think You Are?: bit.ly/GrahamNort
In each episode one of Britain's best-loved celebrities traces their family tree to reveal the surprising, extraordinary and often moving stories of their ancestors.
We publish new videos twice a week with the most memorable moments from the show. Subscribe now and click on the bell 🔔 to get notifications every time we upload a new video!
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ⇨ / wdytya_uk
CHECK OUT THE WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WEBSITE ⇨ bit.ly/WdytyaBBC

Пікірлер: 312

@danellis-jones1591 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed is unreal. I love that he exists. Such a bear of a man, but totally in love with every moment of life.

@ladymaiden2308 4 жыл бұрын

Yes!! Exactly.

@DrumsAndGadgets 4 жыл бұрын

@@ladymaiden2308 And he is about 84 yrs here...

@robertcohen1888 4 жыл бұрын

He has always been a favorite actor of mine.

@Artari 4 жыл бұрын

@@DrumsAndGadgets Aloha , he was younger when he did this episode which aired in August 14, 2014 , six years ago :) 77 years old, but he sure looks grand :)

@DrumsAndGadgets 4 жыл бұрын

@@Artari True, did not think the original date!

@Trek001 4 жыл бұрын

Brian: I'm Brian Blessed Allison: I know - we heard your voice from 30 miles away

@adamarens3520 4 жыл бұрын

Trek001 he is probably the naturally loudest person I’ve ever seen.

@Trek001 4 жыл бұрын

@@adamarens3520 Indeed... There is an occasionally told story that he shouted and could be heard from a distance of two miles

@westyorkshirebiker8270 4 жыл бұрын

lol .. V good.

@jamalwashium5387 4 жыл бұрын

Accurate

@manclass3 4 жыл бұрын

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@mhcIncubus 4 жыл бұрын

Imagine having Brian as a grandad, telling the most memorable bed time stories

@ImCarolB 4 жыл бұрын

Like defending Constantinope against the Turks, armed only with his fruit knife!

@Plethorality 3 жыл бұрын

But no chance of sleep : )

@robynvanhorn 3 жыл бұрын

OMG yes !!!!

@maryshasorayaabdulmanap8904 2 жыл бұрын

Awwww.... He'd make a great and loving grandad

@CaptainLuckyLuke Жыл бұрын

I think it’s a tragedy neither of his daughters had any children. He’d have been a brilliant grandfather and those excellent Blessed genes need to be preserved.

@JustThinkForYourself 4 жыл бұрын

As a Father of three children the concept of workhouses makes me shiver with horror. To imagine a situation where my children could have ended up in these places is enough to make me weep. We are so incredibly lucky to live in an era where children can live a child's life without the horror their ancestors endured. It makes me so grateful.

@garylinehan9572 3 жыл бұрын

Yes -- that line of Scrooge's in A Christmas Carol of "Are there no workhouses?" must resonate more profoundly with Blessed now.

@Koldeman 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, very grateful indeed; but we shouldn't dismiss those conditions as something that solely existed in our ancestors' time, child slave labor is still happening now. All.the current discourse about child trafficking really puts into focus an awareness that there are many injustices to overcome. I'm really moved by how sincere Mr. Blessed is about this discovery. Moreover, as a father of a son with autism, it's bone-chilling to hear the word "idiot" being so callously used in those times. My boy is extraordinarily smart, a straight-A student, a piano prodigy, and a highly skilled artist. To think of the kind of hardship that he could have endured in those days just shakes me to the core.

@olliefoxx7165 3 жыл бұрын

Helen Kellers tutor wrote of her early years, before she taught Helen, that as a young orphan her and her brother stayed at an orphanage in New England. There were so many children dying that her and her brother use to play amongst the bodies and played with the rats in the building. That struck me so hard I havent forgotten that bit. Death was so common and they were so poor that a hellish place as that wasnt out of the norm to them. Our ancestors, if they weren't born into wealth, had a very hard life to live. The trivial things people get offended at today would shock those that truly had a hard life.

@TheSpiderlilly 3 жыл бұрын

Not to make this sound more horrifying, but... "separated by age and gender"? This is child slavery.

@liquidsandwich1052 3 жыл бұрын

It's such a shame that while things do improve and so many are grateful that their children had better childhoods than them, that some adults believe that children are spoilt just because their conditions aren't horrific

@leonbrooks2107 4 жыл бұрын

It must be every librarians nightmare to have the booming voice of Brian Blessed walk in.

@juliaconnell 3 жыл бұрын

I just *adore* Brian Blessed - he is always so full of life, energy & passion - what an absoutely heartbreaking story of these poor children - grateful at least one Blessed survived to give us the absolute gift of Brian

@moetop 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think I have ever been as anxious as seeing Brian in a library. This is the quietest I have ever seen him. Who else was hoping he found a relative named Gordon that was still alive.

@allys744 2 жыл бұрын

Poor children, especially the girl being called an idiot. It’s sweet to see Brian’s concern over the children.

@kcmac66 3 жыл бұрын

I can't explain why I adore him, I just do..

@christinethornhill 4 жыл бұрын

Brian was my first ' crush ' when he played the role of Fancy Smith in Z-Cars ! And he still remains within my old heart to this day . He's just Adorable ❤️

@VDPEFi 3 жыл бұрын

Imagine Brian walking into that work house and scooping those children up. Hit me in the feels this did.

@jasonpeters9390 3 жыл бұрын

Don't think you will find anyone who doesn't like Brian he is a legend

@ttp436 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed is a special man. He makes me smile.

@keep_it_real_1 3 жыл бұрын

He is so passionate and full of positive energy...he can be so sweet and soft then huge and scary...what a man

@growingstrong1009 4 жыл бұрын

The British should raise memorials to those who died and were taken in Workhouses , a cruel and inhumane way of treating vulnerable people .

@seanpearce5809 4 жыл бұрын

That system or systems like it were prevalent across Europe and probably wider, its not just a British thing.

@sethrd999 4 жыл бұрын

Yes it was a gastly time in our history.

@Delicious_J 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah i found out through ancestry.com that some of my lot were in a workhouse, my 4 times removed great grandfather in the early mid 1800s. He was only a lad, and I didnt see any records of relatives that were there with him, so I think he was there alone for some reason. Very depressing.

@evacope1718 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I agree, a few of my ancestors died in workhouses

@nigelsheppard625 3 жыл бұрын

@@sethrd999 and it went on for centuries.

@benwhitechef 4 жыл бұрын

I've always wanted my sat nav to be narrated by Brian Blessed

@Silver_Owl Жыл бұрын

TURN LEFT AT THE POST OFFICE. NO, NO, LEFT YOU FOOL, LEFT!

@keithrose6931 4 жыл бұрын

The true eccentric Englishman . God bless him !

@picklesthewise 4 жыл бұрын

Those poor boys. I cried when the baby sister died. 😪

@harryflashman3451 3 жыл бұрын

It was almost 200 years ago

@picklesthewise 3 жыл бұрын

@@harryflashman3451 It's called empathy, brother. Most functional human beings can understand how it works.

@gobnaitaine2791 4 жыл бұрын

He's so adorable.

@melanieviselli9706 4 жыл бұрын

I keep saying the same thing.

@celtichound9889 4 жыл бұрын

He's a giant teddy bear

@librasa78 2 жыл бұрын

He really is...very huggable!

@lesleyleith4440 4 жыл бұрын

Did anyone else notice the beautiful hand writing in the record books.

@gillchatfield3231 4 жыл бұрын

No, they were specially trained writers. All record books have writing in a similar style. Look at old engineering drawings, which all have handwriting which is very similar.

@MrSimonmcc 4 жыл бұрын

It's called copperplate or English roundhand. My mother, and all her sisters, used to write in beautiful cursive script.

@OffGridInvestor 3 жыл бұрын

It was usual at the time. We have a land title from when Australia was still multiple colonies and under it's signed off by the very famous John Batman and a higher ranking member of the British army.

@tweetiepie551 4 жыл бұрын

Brian blessed is my spirit animal.

@DieFlabbergast 4 жыл бұрын

It would be very easy to write a bio for Brian Blessed: "Brian Blessed has done everything." That's all you need.

@Trek001 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed has done everything* in his life *except learn to be quiet

@unaonse1115 3 жыл бұрын

That's the goal

@thesandwich5321 4 жыл бұрын

Alison seems like an absolutely lovely lady. I always like seeing people who clearly relish what they do.

@Joekidd1961 4 жыл бұрын

Brian is so theatrical you almost think he's being overly dramatic, but I imagine he truly felt the way he is expressing himself. "The Blessed's Are ALIVE!!!??"

@tigermunky 4 жыл бұрын

This is all nonsense. It's widely known that Brian Blessed is a direct descendant of Zeus.

@rastra1321 4 жыл бұрын

товарищ well that make him a descendant of Greece...I’m happy with that. X 🙋🏽‍♀️🇬🇷🙏🏽👍🏽🥰

@Jamestopboy 3 жыл бұрын

His great-grandfather has 13 children. We ALL know that comes from Zeus. We ALL know it.

@andrew_owens7680 3 жыл бұрын

Descendant? I'm very disappointed.

@theevilascotcompany9255 3 жыл бұрын

Direct descendant of Zeus, Hercules, Odin, Bran the Blessed and King Arthur.

@NoLeftTurn54321 3 жыл бұрын

What are you talking about - Brian IS Zeus

@stevolution666 4 жыл бұрын

Pretty thrilling to hear Brian speaking in hushed tones

@ogieogie 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed keeps being Brian Blessed. He isn't one for going incognito.

@shotforshot5983 4 жыл бұрын

The term "idiot" could have been applied to those with any congenital mental deficiency, those who suffered head injuries or even those in fugue state from illness, malnutrition, melancholy or maltreatment.

@thegreenfish21 4 жыл бұрын

I like to imagine Jabez was just called James but he had a cold

@rhondasmith3042 4 жыл бұрын

Lmao😂😂😂😂😂

@richardegan1204 4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@alilindsay4304 4 жыл бұрын

Oh, very good x

@danielyeshe 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed in a library seems like a contradiction in terms!

@Plethorality 3 жыл бұрын

Shhhh!

@liquidsandwich1052 3 жыл бұрын

Imagine him as a librarian

@wesleyedwards3031 3 жыл бұрын

Indeed... the loudest library patron in human history!

@MichaelMoore-nx5ue 4 жыл бұрын

Wow.......i became emotional just watching Brian’s reaction

@christhesmith Жыл бұрын

Making me cry seeing Brian go through this. He's really feeling for them.

@VidkunQL 2 жыл бұрын

Multitudes of children died in the workhouses. These three were mourned, at least, even if was two hundred years later.

@tish2561 4 жыл бұрын

I really wish you would post the COMPLETE episode, what will twelve minutes of such a fine program help me, please help me, post the whole episode! 😭

@jeannekozuszek4666 4 жыл бұрын

Love the enthusiasm and the joy of finding the information

@twitteringothers5059 2 жыл бұрын

Indeed. That in itself is satisfying to see.

@cloudsparrow7729 4 жыл бұрын

he didn't quite manage to stay quiet in the library, but for him a good effort

@djokealtena2538 4 жыл бұрын

Considering Who he is I think he is forgiven.

@malahammer 4 жыл бұрын

I guess it's a while since you have been in a library :)

@cloudsparrow7729 4 жыл бұрын

@@malahammer I wasn't really sure there were any left

@slim9798 4 жыл бұрын

"Unexpected Family Reunion" is a pretty misleading way to title this.

@freebeerfordworkers 4 жыл бұрын

yes, very misleading.

@tfb 4 жыл бұрын

That reunion occurs at about minute 8 in a follow-on video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j75hadlqs7zcioU.html

@michelvanbriemen3459 4 жыл бұрын

I get the sense they confused the titles of Brian Blessed's quest

@kingbrutusxxvi 4 жыл бұрын

I agree completely! Who do they think they are?! ;-)

@Plethorality 3 жыл бұрын

@@kingbrutusxxvi : )

@tyrstark8673 4 жыл бұрын

If words could be owned, Brian would be the proud owner of the word "bollocks".

@markberry3494 3 жыл бұрын

Bollllooocckkksss 😆 🤣

@iancurtis1152 Жыл бұрын

Or any of his miss remembered names for his son Edmund Blackadder😁

@travisinthetrunk 4 жыл бұрын

Brian is such a character. I would love to sit down a while and pick his brain.

@paulinecoburn181 4 жыл бұрын

Travis Jordan Saw him in Harrogate on Sunday night. Such a brilliant character

@sivedan 4 жыл бұрын

This is like a page out of a Dickens story...horrible that children had to go through this....

@djokealtena2538 4 жыл бұрын

The thing is if time travel were possible you'd probably see Brian Blessed jump at the opportunity to pretend to be the loud Uncle Come to save them all. Someone write this book please.

@hallowedflag3373 4 жыл бұрын

😥my heart aches 😪

@oo7naughtyusmaximus933 4 жыл бұрын

Dickens often visited the workhouses, jails and lunatic asylums. He was very thorough in his research.

@geoffpoole483 4 жыл бұрын

That'll be you then.

@richardegan1204 4 жыл бұрын

Thank God for Capitalism

@victormgv 4 жыл бұрын

“An idiot” damn that broke my heart for some reason :-( I don’t know why, but it just gut punched me

@stiofanloingsigh351 4 жыл бұрын

The general term for anyone with even a slight learning disability or delayment. It was even worse if you were a female.

@OffGridInvestor 3 жыл бұрын

The word had a proper meaning before it became derogatory. Imagine if it had said "a loser".

@fava7753 3 жыл бұрын

The adult people in , , prominent positions , , in that age . . could never have imagined the situations these innocent children had been thrown into at such an early stage in Thier lives through no fault of their own . The workhouses must have been worse than the absolute hell they had already lived through . Unimaginable hell for these children . . My heart bleeds for them . . Even in this day and age . .

@SonnySideInc 3 жыл бұрын

questionable that she also died 8 days later. can't have been in good or fair condition. glad that the boys escaped

@padraig581 2 жыл бұрын

To find out Martha died 8 days later she was ill and label of idiot possibly because she was suffering. Good grief

@jakeyb6453 3 жыл бұрын

Strange the similarities with my family history ,one of my relatives lived in Portsmouth as a book maker . He made ships log books for the RN when Napoleon was defeated the work dried up and then his wife passed away ,then he died and both the daughters ended up in the workhouse . .Such sad stories,

@hollywoodwerewolf 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed is capable of having a library voice

@PeterWoodstorrechianca 3 жыл бұрын

My Mother told me a friend of hers family were put in the workhouse in Romford, it was near oldchurch hospital, her friend used to get to a window shout to my mum , this was around 1928 I think, sad business poverty

@stuartsmith7618 4 жыл бұрын

One of the most loveliest people you could ever won't to be meat .I could chat to Brian for hours his love for animals is fantastic lovely man

@stevemakinson2222 4 жыл бұрын

I'm old enough to remember Brian in Zcars and he was great in that,and his death scene in I Claudius was just astonishing

@CrossPurposes 4 жыл бұрын

Cruel times of extreme poverty. Helps to realise how fortunate we are today in comparison.

@richardegan1204 4 жыл бұрын

Extreme poverty for many, extreme wealth for the few

@steve17bf2 4 жыл бұрын

@@richardegan1204 Nothing has changed.

@shotforshot5983 4 жыл бұрын

@@steve17bf2 that's a moronic statement

@jaybinks5989 4 жыл бұрын

@@shotforshot5983 no it isn't. Many suffer in silence

@GiratinaofFury 4 жыл бұрын

@@shotforshot5983 We still have people whose business models are built around exploitation, paying off the law makers to tell us that the poverty of those they take advantage of is warranted and deserved, and trying to strip away the safety net.

@MrTwotimess 4 жыл бұрын

Truly a National Treasure.

@roberttauzer7042 4 жыл бұрын

If you want good entertainment and great stories, read more about this man's life. I know it's a cliche thing to say "they don't make them like this anymore" but in his case, it really applies.

@christinethornhill 4 жыл бұрын

👌🏼 Spot on , Robert 🕊

@danielyeshe 4 жыл бұрын

I have listened to two of his books he reads them so wonderfully!

@fava7753 3 жыл бұрын

He is a definite one off person . A national treasure . . . One amazing person . . As the old saying goes , , . They Broke The Mould . . In this case . Most definitely .

@giantred 4 жыл бұрын

The Pampers commercial that played as Mr. Blessed was finding out about the death of a 2 year old child was darkly timed indeed.

@CCTippers 4 жыл бұрын

Always been a huge huge fan of Brian ever since I was a youngster watching Flash Gordon, one person I’ve always wanted to meet in life, his Biography is just a brilliant read, one incredible man.

@georginamannor4373 4 жыл бұрын

Talk about a cruel world!

@pete3861 4 жыл бұрын

I love Brian Blessed

@borleyboo5613 4 жыл бұрын

He was absolutely brilliant as the Emperor Augustus in I, Claudius.

@wolfganghendery8298 4 жыл бұрын

I'd watch it again as quick as boiled asparagus.

@borleyboo5613 4 жыл бұрын

Wolfgang Hendery Ha ha! Yes, I remember that line. 👍😃

@wolfganghendery8298 4 жыл бұрын

@@borleyboo5613 I believe in Latin it's 'velocium quam asparagi coquantor'.

@thomaslongley9139 4 жыл бұрын

God I love Brian Blessed. Legend

@WhiteCamry 4 жыл бұрын

Proof that ghost stories notwithstanding, Charles Dickens wasn't joking.

@mbPhase23 4 жыл бұрын

Is it weird that I picture him scantily clad in leather, sporting a futuristic viking helmet, with wings, swinging some kind of lazer club? Diiiiiiiiiiiive!!

@theevilascotcompany9255 3 жыл бұрын

It's weird NOT to picture him scantily clad in leather, sporting a futuristic viking helmet, with wings, swinging some kind of lazer club.

@mbPhase23 3 жыл бұрын

@@theevilascotcompany9255 knew there was more of us

@GrumblingGrognard 4 жыл бұрын

Rediscovering an old BBC TV series in which he appeared: "I, Claudius".... If you have not had the pleasure, watch it now.

@malahammer 4 жыл бұрын

Martha and Elizabeth will now always be remembered.

@mattchambers1158 4 жыл бұрын

brian is a legend!!

@jonjonsson6323 4 жыл бұрын

Brian is one of my fav actors of all time as he is juge and massive and still is kind and funny .

@cptnkaos5994 3 жыл бұрын

The emotion in , his spoke volumes

@cmomofilm 3 жыл бұрын

I cannot believe he's only 5 foot 8, always thought he was about 6'3".

@hawkesworth1712 2 жыл бұрын

Meanwhile while all those parents and children died, the royalty, lords and ladies feasted and lived the high life. It never ceases to amaze me how readily the poor bow and curtsey to the nobles of the day - both then and now. The difference between wealth and poverty was, and still is obscene. The French had the right idea.

@jantelopez5626 2 жыл бұрын

blessed by name blessed by nature

@GlobetrotterBR 4 жыл бұрын

That was how things were back then. Having a normal family, as we know today, was a privilege for the rich.

@DieFlabbergast 4 жыл бұрын

Even for the rich, childhood mortality was very high. Just walking around the graveyard next to my local church, the place is littered with the moss-grown gravestones of children aged 3, 5, 7 years of age, you name it.

@GlobetrotterBR 4 жыл бұрын

@@DieFlabbergast Very true. But poor people were much more likely to lose their children, due to poor food, contaminated water and no hygiene at all.

@crazyfishmonster459 4 жыл бұрын

This is what it will be like in Brexit Britain.

@GlobetrotterBR 4 жыл бұрын

@@crazyfishmonster459 That is what THEY want you to believe.

@scerpalman 4 жыл бұрын

@@GlobetrotterBR and who are 'they'?

@kirishima2370 4 жыл бұрын

An eccentric but a lovely man

@sergiolobato1798 3 жыл бұрын

I keep expecting Brian Blessed to go wild eyed look into the camera and shout : The Bastards!!!

@c.t5136 2 жыл бұрын

Bless their little souls.

@nigelsheppard625 3 жыл бұрын

This was such a cruel society. Totally inhumane and without compassion.

@markwhittaker6321 5 күн бұрын

Incredible actor and incredible soul.

@robertpearson8798 Жыл бұрын

My Wife's grandfather ran away from a workhouse at age 14, stowed away on a ship with a friend and came to Canada, leaving his family to wonder what happened to him. When years later he finally contacted them he found that his mother had been hit and killed by a bus while on a search for his whereabouts.

@scottmartinson2524 3 жыл бұрын

He is one of my favorite actors.

@shootingzen28fav 4 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed in a library 😂 😂

@FlambeauxLaveau 4 жыл бұрын

I will now and forever, after signing my name, place "An Idiot" under it in a parenthesis.. Thank you... thank you for this..

@rdo1231 4 жыл бұрын

great actor! a lovely man!

@davidhall8874 4 жыл бұрын

My children are blessed!

@marcusw2680 4 жыл бұрын

I love Brian blessed Flash Gordon would have been crap without him

@geoffpoole483 4 жыл бұрын

Gordon's Alive!

@irenedownie6559 4 жыл бұрын

Dive, my hawk men! 😂

@marcusw2680 4 жыл бұрын

Best line ever. impetuous boy are well WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOR EVER hahaha .

@Carrera-gp9od 4 жыл бұрын

Dive!!!!!!!!!

@shaitarn1869 4 жыл бұрын

There was an anniversary edition released on DVD some years back, with Brian Blessed doing a commentary. If you haven't watched it, I urge you to do so - his enthusiasm for the film is wonderful.

@pablosantander5739 4 жыл бұрын

He would be the best Odin in Marvel.

@cate4338 3 жыл бұрын

heartbreaking... dear little ones need to be remembered and their pain and fear acknowledged - barbaric ... it's not that society in so-called first world countries, treat children in need much better now...

@annmorgan8838 3 жыл бұрын

I loved this.

@diyjan2580 4 жыл бұрын

That woman from the Westminster archives ....swear that was Matt Lucas 🤣🤣🤣

@yousafzaiaa7453 3 жыл бұрын

Long John Silver (HTV). What a work! love him

@OBGynKenobi 3 жыл бұрын

Loved him as Augustus.

@glennboyd7049 2 жыл бұрын

Brian Blessed: The Greatest Living Englishman!

@whitewolfo2715 4 жыл бұрын

I remember Brian as Mark of Cornwall from Arthur of the Britons.

@tedwarden5803 3 жыл бұрын

I’d love to know what Brian sounds like when he goes back to Goldthorp. Patrick Stewart said that when he goes to Mirfield his Thee,s Thei’s and Thou’s come out as if he’d never left.

@PeterWoodstorrechianca 4 жыл бұрын

6:56 / 12:14 Brian Blessed was one of the few people who seemed likable in this series