Pitch PERFECT

RALF LITTLE on finding a footballing hero in his family tree

- CAREN CLARK

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

THURSDAY, 9PM (TIMES VARY), BBC1 FACTUAL

As super-sleuth DI Neville Parker in crime drama Death in Paradise, Ralf Little expertly sifts through clues to crack cases. But the popular actor had a mystery of his own to solve when he delved into his ancestry for BBC1’s genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?

Ralf, who grew up around Bury, Greater Manchester, was keen to uncover the truth about family rumours of links to an international footballer, and he was thrilled to learn that his maternal great-grandfather, Albert Lockley, played for Wales in the 1890s.

‘Growing up, I remember my mum [Eileen] going, “You’re dead good at sport. That comes from me!”’ smiles Ralf, 42, as he calls TV Times for a video chat from Guadeloupe during a break in filming the new run of BBC1’s Death in Paradise. ‘I thought it was one of the many crazy things my mum would say, but it was true!’

He also explored his maternal grandad Arthur Bailey’s service during World War Two and heard about his paternal four- times great-grandfather, John Woollam, who fought for social change in the 19th century.

Here, the always lovely Ralf, who made his name in The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, tells us about his journey into the past…

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