BBC Strictly's Rose Ayling-Ellis in tears after discovering Devon roots

Rose Ayling-Ellis on Who Do You Think You Are
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


Strictly Come Dancing star Rose Ayling-Ellis appeared on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are and broke down in tears. The 29-year-old traced her family history and discovered that her great grandfather lived in Exeter.

She visited Exeter's Guildhall during the episode where she met historian Dr Eve Worth. She told Rose that, according to the 1921 census, her great grandfather James Welland lived in Paul Street.

The street was a slum and he lived with a large family, having to work as a porter to support them. Rose's grandmother Pam added that he only had one hand and was injured while working on the railways.

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Rose said: "I don’t know what happened, but possibly he’d been working on the railway and had some sort of accident. Because lots of family members worked on the railway, but I don’t know. He’d lost his hand. When he was at home he didn’t have a glove on."

James and Ada Welland, Rose's great grandparents, welcomed a whopping 17 children together. Tragically, two died in infancy.

The episode also saw Rose get emotional as she learnt about the pub that her great great great grandmother, named Agnes, owned in the early 20th century. She visited the pub in Birmingham and discovered that one of the bedrooms in the pub-turned-hotel is now named after her grandmother.

Reflecting on the experience, Rose raised a pint to Agnes at the pub, admitting: "I just feel really privileged to learn so much about this woman. So, to Agnes… I just want to say cheers, and thank you.

"I don’t know why I’m getting emotional about that! Because I feel like it must have been really difficult to cope with two deaths of her husbands.

“But she’s resilient. It’s not about her husbands. It’s about herself, and it’s about who she is and what she wants to do and she’s just doing it. And I like that. I have nothing but massive respect for her.”