In Grandmother's FOOTSTEPS

MATT LUCAS on discovering the tragic past of his beloved relative

- CAREN CLARK

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

THURSDAY, 9PM, BBC1 FACTUAL

When Matt Lucas was growing up, his Jewish grandmother, Margot, was a hugely important figure in his life.

'She was a formidable woman and scared of her when I was very young, I was a little she was very strict,' smiles the co-host of C4's The Great British Bake Off as he remembers his maternal ancestor, who passed away in 1999.

'But as I got older and she got older, she mellowed and we became really close.' For this week's episode of BBC1's celebrity genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are?, Matt travels to Berlin to learn more about German-born Margot's early life and how she fled to England from Nazi persecution in 1939. Then, in Amsterdam, he uncovers the harrowing story of how Margot's aunts and cousins fared during the Holocaust.

Here, the 48-year-old star tells us more about his journey of self-discovery..

What made you want to explore your ancestry?

I'd love to reconnect with my grandma, and one way I could do that is maybe by finding out some things about her that she never told me. It helps keep her alive for me, because I really miss her.

What was your bond like with Margot?

Whenever I asked her how old she was, she always said, '21,' so even when she was 85, I gave her a 'Happy 21st birthday' card!

We would chat for hours on the phone. Her English was very good, she was always correcting me! But if I was at her house and the phone rang and it was a German friend, she would always talk in German and I'd do impressions of her in the background!