Kevin Whately is in a fan favourite actor on ITV - and was recently awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list.
The popular actor describes himself a self-confessed "leftie", and during an appearance on the BBC hit show Who Do You Think You Are back in 2009, he found out that he came from a long line of "capitalists". He quickly discovered that his ancestors were some of the most powerful and rich people in the 17th century, as he discovered more about his family history.
During the show, Kevin admitted it was "pathetic" how little he knew about his past, and was grateful that none of the money that his ancestors had made had come to him - but it did go to relatives.
"It's pathetic how little I know. It's a surreal feeling to know you’re connected to these people. I'm a country boy from the North Tyne Valley and I always will be. I considered myself a leftie, then I found capitalists everywhere. Thankfully, none of the money which was made during that time came down to me, which was a huge relief," he said.
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Helen Williams)Image:
ITV)During the show, Kevin found out that his maternal grandmother Doris had a father called Frederick, who was a food entrepreneur. Kevin's great grandfather owned a fish shop and sold a lot of herring, to coincide with the boom in the demand. When he died, he left what would be equivalent now to £2 million in his will to his family.
Kevin is known for playing straight talking Inspector Lewis in the hit show, whilst he has also starred as Neville Hope in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and recently had a guest role in the final ever series.
His great great great grandfather Thomas Whately had worked as an apprentice at the Levant Company, which did trade in a number of places including Turkey, Syria and Palestine. In the 18th century, he became a director of the Bank of England.
Thomas' wife Mary Thompson's family also had links to the slave trade. Mary's relative was Robert Thompson, who was one of four brothers that made their money in America. His brother Maurice earned his money from the Virginia tobacco trade in 1632 and was also a part of the slave trade, where he earned some of his money.
A mansion in Sutton was built partly with money from the slave trade, with Kevin grateful that he never inherited any part of it. He said: "I think if I was sitting in a stately home somewhere because of the money my ancestors made, I’d be feeling very uneasy."
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