Pixie Lott was reduced to tears after finding out about one of her family member's workhouse history during an appearance on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’.
Pixie Lott
The ‘Mama Do’ singer learnt about how relatives on her dad Stephen's side were evicted from their east London homes after emigrating from Ireland, while appearing on the BBC One family history programme.
Pixie cried when she heard about the ordeal Mary Fleming - her maternal great grandmother, who was forced to live in a Victorian workhouse - endured, such as experiencing homelessness and the deaths of some of her 10 siblings.
The 30-year-old star said: "I was really shocked to hear how tragic her story was.
"I have friends that know their great grandmothers. So I feel like it’s not that far back. But yet her world was so different to mine. I couldn’t believe what I learnt about their living conditions.”
Pixie took comfort in their family solidarity, which she revealed had travelled down the generations to the present day.
She said: "One thing that was clear that they tried to stick together, and we have that in our family, definitely.
"Also, that the workhouse we visited that they lived in for a time, was down the road to where I’ve been living for the past 10 years."
However, not all of the discoveries about her family history were sad, as Pixie picked up knowledge about where she got her musical abilities.
Her great grandfather John Frederick was a musician in the Royal Marines and her great-great grandfather William Martin was in the Army military band.
She said: "I was extremely happy to find I have musicians in the family. I always thought I was the only one to do music as an occupation.
"It makes more sense now as to why I went into it myself!"
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