Father-son duo Jack and Michael Whitehall discovered tales of scandal and political upheaval when they appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? <\/p>
Michael Whitehall, born on 12 April 1940 in Exeter, is a TV producer and theatrical agent who has represented actors including Dame Judi Dench<\/a> and Colin Firth. His son Jack (born 7 July 1988 in London) is a stand-up comedian and actor known for his appearances in TV programmes\u00a0Fresh Meat\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Bad Education<\/em>. Like many fathers and sons, the pair spend a lot of time bickering. They\u2019ve entertained audiences with their banter while presenting the chat show Backchat<\/em> (BBC) and the travel programme Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father<\/em> (Netflix). In 2019, Jack and Michael Whitehall became the first pair of celebrities to appear on\u00a0Who Do You Think You Are?<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>together as they traced their family history.<\/p>\n Michael\u2019s well-to-do grandfather Richard Earnest Baxter Whitehall, or REB, emerges as a key figure. It was his wealth that enabled Michael\u2019s parents to send him to public school, but how did REB come by his money?<\/p>\n A visit to Michael\u2019s cousin, Jennefer, reveals that REB\u2019s father, Richard Whitehall, was a commercial traveller<\/a>.\u00a0The family story is that Richard died in a pony-and-trap accident and his wife Caroline died of grief shortly afterwards.\u00a0Then a wealthy businessman, Charlie Worsey, adopted<\/a> the orphaned REB.<\/p>\n The truth is rather more complex \u2013 and darker.\u00a0The young REB \u2013 a boarder at Commercial Travellers\u2019 School<\/a> in London, where Charles Dickens was an honorary chair \u2013 didn\u2019t lose his father to an accident. Both his parents likely died of syphilis, his mother in a lunatic asylum<\/a> because of the effects of the disease.<\/p>\n As for Worsey, he was Caroline\u2019s brother, a wool merchant who in 1938 left the equivalent of \u00a310m.\u00a0REB, it seems, wasn\u2019t adopted young, but worked as a commercial traveller himself before inheriting his wealth later in life from a cousin 10 years his senior.<\/p>\n Next, Jack and Michael turn their attention to lawyer Thomas Jones Phillips, respectively their 3x and 4x great grandfather via REB\u2019s wife, Edith.<\/p>\n It\u2019s research that lays bare family political differences as the duo learn Thomas was, in Jack\u2019s words, \u201ca massive Tory\u201d.\u00a0He was an important figure in the politics of Monmouthshire around the time of the Great Reform Act.<\/p>\n Passed in 1832, this extended the franchise to a new class of middle-class voters.\u00a0Thomas tried to keep those he thought might vote for the Whigs off the electoral register<\/a> through technicalities.<\/p>\n Michael thinks he was doing a good job.\u00a0Jack: \u201cI\u2019d rather he had syphilis.\u201d<\/p>\n