Jack Whitehall learned his womanising ancestor was killed by an STD.
Jack Whitehall
As part of his appearance on 'Who Do You Think You Are?', a show that traces its subject's family tree, the stand-up comic that his discovered his promiscuous great-great-grandfather Richard contracted syphilis before he went mad and died. He also learned that Richard ended up passing the disease onto his wife, Caroline, and it killed her too.
Appearing alongside his dad, Michael, Jack said: "We are not particularly emotional people, but reading an account that's as graphic and as stark as that, it's very hard not to be affected by it."
And the family event went as far to cover up the real cause of death and claimed Richard died in a pony and trap accident whilst his wife was "killed by grief".
Elsewhere, the 'Bad Education' actor was then told that his great-grandfather inherited a whopping £10million following the deaths of his parents.
It was also revealed to Jack and Michael that one of their 19th century relatives was a Welsh Tory lawyer who wanted to stop the rival Whig supporters from voting. Thomas Jones Phillips got pro-democracy campaigner John Frost, who was leading the Newport Uprising, arrested, to which Jack commented: "It's pioneering scumbaggery - I'd rather he had syphilis."
'Who Do You Think You Are?' airs on August 5.
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