Brian Blessed Shocked By Unexpected Family Reunion | Who Do You Think You Are

Brian Blessed finds out more about his great-great grandfather’s life with his 13 children before learning that his brother, who he was separated from at the workhouse, makes a reappearance in his life.
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[@danellis-jones1591]

Brian Blessed is unreal. I love that he exists. Such a bear of a man, but totally in love with every moment of life.

[@ladymaiden2308]

Yes!! Exactly.

[@DrumsAndGadgets]

@@ladymaiden2308 And he is about 84 yrs here...

[@robertcohen1888]

He has always been a favorite actor of mine.

[@Artari]

@@DrumsAndGadgets Aloha , he was younger when he did this episode which aired in August 14, 2014 , six years ago :) 77 years old, but he sure looks grand :)

[@DrumsAndGadgets]

@@Artari True, did not think the original date!

[@Trek001]

Brian: I'm Brian Blessed Allison: I know - we heard your voice from 30 miles away

[@adamarens3520]

Trek001 he is probably the naturally loudest person I’ve ever seen.

[@Trek001]

@@adamarens3520 Indeed... There is an occasionally told story that he shouted and could be heard from a distance of two miles

[@westyorkshirebiker8270]

lol .. V good.

[@jamalwashium5387]

Accurate

[@manclass3]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@juliaconnell]

I just *adore* Brian Blessed - he is always so full of life, energy & passion - what an absoutely heartbreaking story of these poor children - grateful at least one Blessed survived to give us the absolute gift of Brian

[@JustThinkForYourself]

As a Father of three children the concept of workhouses makes me shiver with horror. To imagine a situation where my children could have ended up in these places is enough to make me weep. We are so incredibly lucky to live in an era where children can live a child's life without the horror their ancestors endured. It makes me so grateful.

[@garylinehan9572]

Yes -- that line of Scrooge's in A Christmas Carol of "Are there no workhouses?" must resonate more profoundly with Blessed now.

[@Koldeman]

Yes, very grateful indeed; but we shouldn't dismiss those conditions as something that solely existed in our ancestors' time, child slave labor is still happening now. All.the current discourse about child trafficking really puts into focus an awareness that there are many injustices to overcome. I'm really moved by how sincere Mr. Blessed is about this discovery. Moreover, as a father of a son with autism, it's bone-chilling to hear the word "idiot" being so callously used in those times. My boy is extraordinarily smart, a straight-A student, a piano prodigy, and a highly skilled artist. To think of the kind of hardship that he could have endured in those days just shakes me to the core.

[@olliefoxx7165]

Helen Kellers tutor wrote of her early years, before she taught Helen, that as a young orphan her and her brother stayed at an orphanage in New England. There were so many children dying that her and her brother use to play amongst the bodies and played with the rats in the building. That struck me so hard I havent forgotten that bit. Death was so common and they were so poor that a hellish place as that wasnt out of the norm to them. Our ancestors, if they weren't born into wealth, had a very hard life to live. The trivial things people get offended at today would shock those that truly had a hard life.

[@TheSpiderlilly]

Not to make this sound more horrifying, but... "separated by age and gender"? This is child slavery.

[@liquidsandwich1052]

It's such a shame that while things do improve and so many are grateful that their children had better childhoods than them, that some adults believe that children are spoilt just because their conditions aren't horrific

[@moetop]

I don't think I have ever been as anxious as seeing Brian in a library. This is the quietest I have ever seen him. Who else was hoping he found a relative named Gordon that was still alive.

[@allys744]

Poor children, especially the girl being called an idiot. It’s sweet to see Brian’s concern over the children.

[@mhcIncubus]

Imagine having Brian as a grandad, telling the most memorable bed time stories

[@ImCarolB]

Like defending Constantinope against the Turks, armed only with his fruit knife!

[@Plethorality]

But no chance of sleep : )

[@robynvanhorn]

OMG yes !!!!

[@maryshasorayaabdulmanap8904]

Awwww.... He'd make a great and loving grandad

[@CaptainLuckyLuke]

I think it’s a tragedy neither of his daughters had any children. He’d have been a brilliant grandfather and those excellent Blessed genes need to be preserved.

[@leonbrooks2107]

It must be every librarians nightmare to have the booming voice of Brian Blessed walk in.

[@kcmac66]

I can't explain why I adore him, I just do..

[@benwhitechef]

I've always wanted my sat nav to be narrated by Brian Blessed

[@Silver_Owl]

TURN LEFT AT THE POST OFFICE. NO, NO, LEFT YOU FOOL, LEFT!

[@jasonpeters9390]

Don't think you will find anyone who doesn't like Brian he is a legend

[@christinethornhill]

Brian was my first ' crush ' when he played the role of Fancy Smith in Z-Cars ! And he still remains within my old heart to this day . He's just Adorable ❤️

[@VDPEFi]

Imagine Brian walking into that work house and scooping those children up. Hit me in the feels this did.

[@ttp436]

Brian Blessed is a special man. He makes me smile.

[@keep_it_real_1]

He is so passionate and full of positive energy...he can be so sweet and soft then huge and scary...what a man

[@lesleyleith4440]

Did anyone else notice the beautiful hand writing in the record books.

[@gillchatfield3231]

No, they were specially trained writers. All record books have writing in a similar style. Look at old engineering drawings, which all have handwriting which is very similar.

[@MrSimonmcc]

It's called copperplate or English roundhand. My mother, and all her sisters, used to write in beautiful cursive script.

[@OffGridInvestor]

It was usual at the time. We have a land title from when Australia was still multiple colonies and under it's signed off by the very famous John Batman and a higher ranking member of the British army.

[@picklesthewise]

Those poor boys. I cried when the baby sister died. 😪

[@harryflashman3451]

It was almost 200 years ago

[@picklesthewise]

@@harryflashman3451 It's called empathy, brother. Most functional human beings can understand how it works.

[@gobnaitaine2791]

He's so adorable.

[@melanieviselli9706]

I keep saying the same thing.

[@celtichound9889]

He's a giant teddy bear

[@librasa78]

He really is...very huggable!

[@growingstrong1009]

The British should raise memorials to those who died and were taken in Workhouses , a cruel and inhumane way of treating vulnerable people .

[@seanpearce5809]

That system or systems like it were prevalent across Europe and probably wider, its not just a British thing.

[@sethrd999]

Yes it was a gastly time in our history.

[@Delicious_J]

Yeah i found out through ancestry.com that some of my lot were in a workhouse, my 4 times removed great grandfather in the early mid 1800s. He was only a lad, and I didnt see any records of relatives that were there with him, so I think he was there alone for some reason. Very depressing.

[@evacope1718]

Yes I agree, a few of my ancestors died in workhouses

[@nigelsheppard625]

@@sethrd999 and it went on for centuries.

[@keithrose6931]

The true eccentric Englishman . God bless him !

[@mbPhase23]

Is it weird that I picture him scantily clad in leather, sporting a futuristic viking helmet, with wings, swinging some kind of lazer club? Diiiiiiiiiiiive!!

[@theevilascotcompany9255]

It's weird NOT to picture him scantily clad in leather, sporting a futuristic viking helmet, with wings, swinging some kind of lazer club.

[@mbPhase23]

@@theevilascotcompany9255 knew there was more of us

[@stevolution666]

Pretty thrilling to hear Brian speaking in hushed tones

[@tweetiepie551]

Brian blessed is my spirit animal.

[@DieFlabbergast]

It would be very easy to write a bio for Brian Blessed: "Brian Blessed has done everything." That's all you need.

[@Trek001]

Brian Blessed has done everything* in his life *except learn to be quiet

[@unaonse1115]

That's the goal

[@tigermunky]

This is all nonsense. It's widely known that Brian Blessed is a direct descendant of Zeus.

[@rastra1321]

товарищ well that make him a descendant of Greece...I’m happy with that. X 🙋🏽‍♀️🇬🇷🙏🏽👍🏽🥰

[@Jamestopboy]

His great-grandfather has 13 children. We ALL know that comes from Zeus. We ALL know it.

[@andrew_owens7680]

Descendant? I'm very disappointed.

[@theevilascotcompany9255]

Direct descendant of Zeus, Hercules, Odin, Bran the Blessed and King Arthur.

[@NoLeftTurn54321]

What are you talking about - Brian IS Zeus

[@thesandwich5321]

Alison seems like an absolutely lovely lady. I always like seeing people who clearly relish what they do.

[@Joekidd1961]

Brian is so theatrical you almost think he's being overly dramatic, but I imagine he truly felt the way he is expressing himself. "The Blessed's Are ALIVE!!!??"

[@PeterWoodstorrechianca]

My Mother told me a friend of hers family were put in the workhouse in Romford, it was near oldchurch hospital, her friend used to get to a window shout to my mum , this was around 1928 I think, sad business poverty

[@jakeyb6453]

Strange the similarities with my family history ,one of my relatives lived in Portsmouth as a book maker . He made ships log books for the RN when Napoleon was defeated the work dried up and then his wife passed away ,then he died and both the daughters ended up in the workhouse . .Such sad stories,

[@ogieogie]

Brian Blessed keeps being Brian Blessed. He isn't one for going incognito.

[@VidkunQL]

Multitudes of children died in the workhouses. These three were mourned, at least, even if was two hundred years later.

[@tish2561]

I really wish you would post the COMPLETE episode, what will twelve minutes of such a fine program help me, please help me, post the whole episode! 😭

[@shotforshot5983]

The term "idiot" could have been applied to those with any congenital mental deficiency, those who suffered head injuries or even those in fugue state from illness, malnutrition, melancholy or maltreatment.

[@jeannekozuszek4666]

Love the enthusiasm and the joy of finding the information

[@twitteringothers5059]

Indeed. That in itself is satisfying to see.

[@victormgv]

“An idiot” damn that broke my heart for some reason :-( I don’t know why, but it just gut punched me

[@stiofanloingsigh351]

The general term for anyone with even a slight learning disability or delayment. It was even worse if you were a female.

[@OffGridInvestor]

The word had a proper meaning before it became derogatory. Imagine if it had said "a loser".

[@fava7753]

The adult people in , , prominent positions , , in that age . . could never have imagined the situations these innocent children had been thrown into at such an early stage in Thier lives through no fault of their own . The workhouses must have been worse than the absolute hell they had already lived through . Unimaginable hell for these children . . My heart bleeds for them . . Even in this day and age . .

[@SonnySideInc]

questionable that she also died 8 days later. can't have been in good or fair condition. glad that the boys escaped

[@padraig581]

To find out Martha died 8 days later she was ill and label of idiot possibly because she was suffering. Good grief

[@cloudsparrow7729]

he didn't quite manage to stay quiet in the library, but for him a good effort

[@djokealtena2538]

Considering Who he is I think he is forgiven.

[@malahammer]

I guess it's a while since you have been in a library :)

[@cloudsparrow7729]

@@malahammer I wasn't really sure there were any left

[@tyrstark8673]

If words could be owned, Brian would be the proud owner of the word "bollocks".

[@markberry3494]

Bollllooocckkksss 😆 🤣

[@iancurtis1152]

Or any of his miss remembered names for his son Edmund Blackadder😁

[@christhesmith]

Making me cry seeing Brian go through this. He's really feeling for them.

[@danielyeshe]

Brian Blessed in a library seems like a contradiction in terms!

[@Plethorality]

Shhhh!

[@liquidsandwich1052]

Imagine him as a librarian

[@wesleyedwards3031]

Indeed... the loudest library patron in human history!

[@slim9798]

"Unexpected Family Reunion" is a pretty misleading way to title this.

[@freebeerfordworkers]

yes, very misleading.

[@tfb]

That reunion occurs at about minute 8 in a follow-on video kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4mUZ6lvg7urkLM

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

I get the sense they confused the titles of Brian Blessed's quest

[@kingbrutusxxvi]

I agree completely! Who do they think they are?! ;-)

[@Plethorality]

@@kingbrutusxxvi : )

[@travisinthetrunk]

Brian is such a character. I would love to sit down a while and pick his brain.

[@paulinecoburn181]

Travis Jordan Saw him in Harrogate on Sunday night. Such a brilliant character

[@MichaelMoore-nx5ue]

Wow.......i became emotional just watching Brian’s reaction

[@thegreenfish21]

I like to imagine Jabez was just called James but he had a cold

[@rhondasmith3042]

Lmao😂😂😂😂😂

[@richardegan1204]

😂😂😂

[@alilindsay4304]

Oh, very good x

[@giantred]

The Pampers commercial that played as Mr. Blessed was finding out about the death of a 2 year old child was darkly timed indeed.

[@stuartsmith7618]

One of the most loveliest people you could ever won't to be meat .I could chat to Brian for hours his love for animals is fantastic lovely man

[@CrossPurposes]

Cruel times of extreme poverty. Helps to realise how fortunate we are today in comparison.

[@richardegan1204]

Extreme poverty for many, extreme wealth for the few

[@steve17bf2]

@@richardegan1204 Nothing has changed.

[@shotforshot5983]

@@steve17bf2 that's a moronic statement

[@jaybinks5989]

@@shotforshot5983 no it isn't. Many suffer in silence

[@GiratinaofFury]

@@shotforshot5983 We still have people whose business models are built around exploitation, paying off the law makers to tell us that the poverty of those they take advantage of is warranted and deserved, and trying to strip away the safety net.

[@stevemakinson2222]

I'm old enough to remember Brian in Zcars and he was great in that,and his death scene in I Claudius was just astonishing

[@roberttauzer7042]

If you want good entertainment and great stories, read more about this man's life. I know it's a cliche thing to say "they don't make them like this anymore" but in his case, it really applies.

[@christinethornhill]

👌🏼 Spot on , Robert 🕊

[@danielyeshe]

I have listened to two of his books he reads them so wonderfully!

[@fava7753]

He is a definite one off person . A national treasure . . . One amazing person . . As the old saying goes , , . They Broke The Mould . . In this case . Most definitely .

[@CCTippers]

Always been a huge huge fan of Brian ever since I was a youngster watching Flash Gordon, one person I’ve always wanted to meet in life, his Biography is just a brilliant read, one incredible man.

[@borleyboo5613]

He was absolutely brilliant as the Emperor Augustus in I, Claudius.

[@wolfganghendery8298]

I'd watch it again as quick as boiled asparagus.

[@borleyboo5613]

Wolfgang Hendery Ha ha! Yes, I remember that line. 👍😃

[@wolfganghendery8298]

@@borleyboo5613 I believe in Latin it's 'velocium quam asparagi coquantor'.

[@MrTwotimess]

Truly a National Treasure.

[@hollywoodwerewolf]

Brian Blessed is capable of having a library voice

[@WhiteCamry]

Proof that ghost stories notwithstanding, Charles Dickens wasn't joking.

[@sivedan]

This is like a page out of a Dickens story...horrible that children had to go through this....

[@djokealtena2538]

The thing is if time travel were possible you'd probably see Brian Blessed jump at the opportunity to pretend to be the loud Uncle Come to save them all. Someone write this book please.

[@hallowedflag3373]

😥my heart aches 😪

[@oo7naughtyusmaximus933]

Dickens often visited the workhouses, jails and lunatic asylums. He was very thorough in his research.

[@geoffpoole483]

That'll be you then.

[@richardegan1204]

Thank God for Capitalism

[@pete3861]

I love Brian Blessed

[@thomaslongley9139]

God I love Brian Blessed. Legend

[@mattchambers1158]

brian is a legend!!

[@malahammer]

Martha and Elizabeth will now always be remembered.

[@GrumblingGrognard]

Rediscovering an old BBC TV series in which he appeared: "I, Claudius".... If you have not had the pleasure, watch it now.

[@georginamannor4373]

Talk about a cruel world!

[@cptnkaos5994]

The emotion in , his spoke volumes

[@FlambeauxLaveau]

I will now and forever, after signing my name, place "An Idiot" under it in a parenthesis.. Thank you... thank you for this..

[@GlobetrotterBR]

That was how things were back then. Having a normal family, as we know today, was a privilege for the rich.

[@DieFlabbergast]

Even for the rich, childhood mortality was very high. Just walking around the graveyard next to my local church, the place is littered with the moss-grown gravestones of children aged 3, 5, 7 years of age, you name it.

[@GlobetrotterBR]

@@DieFlabbergast Very true. But poor people were much more likely to lose their children, due to poor food, contaminated water and no hygiene at all.

[@crazyfishmonster459]

This is what it will be like in Brexit Britain.

[@GlobetrotterBR]

@@crazyfishmonster459 That is what THEY want you to believe.

[@scerpalman]

@@GlobetrotterBR and who are 'they'?

[@kirishima2370]

An eccentric but a lovely man

[@sergiolobato1798]

I keep expecting Brian Blessed to go wild eyed look into the camera and shout : The Bastards!!!

[@cmomofilm]

I cannot believe he's only 5 foot 8, always thought he was about 6'3".

[@jantelopez5626]

blessed by name blessed by nature

[@marcusw2680]

I love Brian blessed Flash Gordon would have been crap without him

[@geoffpoole483]

Gordon's Alive!

[@irenedownie6559]

Dive, my hawk men! 😂

[@marcusw2680]

Best line ever. impetuous boy are well WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOR EVER hahaha .

[@Carrera-gp9od]

Dive!!!!!!!!!

[@shaitarn1869]

There was an anniversary edition released on DVD some years back, with Brian Blessed doing a commentary. If you haven't watched it, I urge you to do so - his enthusiasm for the film is wonderful.

[@jonjonsson6323]

Brian is one of my fav actors of all time as he is juge and massive and still is kind and funny .

[@hawkesworth1712]

Meanwhile while all those parents and children died, the royalty, lords and ladies feasted and lived the high life. It never ceases to amaze me how readily the poor bow and curtsey to the nobles of the day - both then and now. The difference between wealth and poverty was, and still is obscene. The French had the right idea.

[@nigelsheppard625]

This was such a cruel society. Totally inhumane and without compassion.

[@robertpearson8798]

My Wife's grandfather ran away from a workhouse at age 14, stowed away on a ship with a friend and came to Canada, leaving his family to wonder what happened to him. When years later he finally contacted them he found that his mother had been hit and killed by a bus while on a search for his whereabouts.

[@c.t5136]

Bless their little souls.

[@scottmartinson2524]

He is one of my favorite actors.

[@shootingzen28fav]

Brian Blessed in a library 😂 😂

[@diyjan2580]

That woman from the Westminster archives ....swear that was Matt Lucas 🤣🤣🤣

[@pablosantander5739]

He would be the best Odin in Marvel.

[@davidhall8874]

My children are blessed!

[@rdo1231]

great actor! a lovely man!

[@PeterWoodstorrechianca]

6:56 / 12:14 Brian Blessed was one of the few people who seemed likable in this series

[@tedwarden5803]

I’d love to know what Brian sounds like when he goes back to Goldthorp. Patrick Stewart said that when he goes to Mirfield his Thee,s Thei’s and Thou’s come out as if he’d never left.

[@glennboyd7049]

Brian Blessed: The Greatest Living Englishman!

[@annmorgan8838]

I loved this.

[@cate4338]

heartbreaking... dear little ones need to be remembered and their pain and fear acknowledged - barbaric ... it's not that society in so-called first world countries, treat children in need much better now...

[@yousafzaiaa7453]

Long John Silver (HTV). What a work! love him

[@glennboyd7049]

HELLO. I AM BRIAN BLESSED AND I AM WHISPERING!!!!! LOL

[@whitewolfo2715]

I remember Brian as Mark of Cornwall from Arthur of the Britons.

[@JACKnJESUS]

This went on nationwide...to thousands and thousands and thousand of children. In the then...modern world.

[@exexpat11]

Brian Blessed is a World Treasure. Sorry UK. You can't have him exclusively.

[@jofi4580]

Brian Blessed in a library LOL

[@OBGynKenobi]

Loved him as Augustus.

[@mon_avis2978]

ca. 11:20 Brian: "He's done a runner." David: "He's done a runner." Don't know why this strikes me as funny.

[@fibrown444]

I wonder how much Brian struggled to keep his voice down in the library!

[@courtneyknight2407]

If Brian Blessed smiled at me and called me a miracle worker, I'd want for nothing else in the world.

[@Dachdogoriginal]

A lot of speculation. But the times were absolutely cruel. Poor children.

[@parnmonkuma5461]

It just kills me when i see folks touching old books with bare hands. GLOVES, FRIENDS! Gloves!

[@Dayvit78]

Hopefully it's all been digitized to preserve the records, but yes, the actual books are valuable simply for being of the period.

[@jasonbuckley2227]

If hands are clean there is nothing wrong with touching old books. Gloves do more damage as by definition they are abrasive. Natural oils from fingers actually help preserve books and scripts. Rub one finger against another and feel the smoothness. These are people who know what they do.

[@wendytube007]

The scientifically proved argument is that when you’re wearing gloves you have to work harder turning the pages and this actually inadvertently does more damage. Clean hands with acids removed are far more tactile and can be less damaging.

[@petethebastard]

Wow... ...just wow1

[@petethebastard]

I cried...

[@melanieviselli9706]

Poor little Martha and Elizabeth.

[@ringwe]

And their brothers too! Imagine two little boys coming from a large family and all of the sudden they are left on their own!

[@richredlionable]

I love her accent!

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

One of my 2nd great aunts was described as insane from fits and an idiot in various censuses. She likely had epilepsy. I also have epilepsy.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

@Dee It wasn't. It is only recently (the past decade or so that some people have started to find it offensive.