In a new two-part series starting this week on ITV, Len Goodman along with Michelle Collins, Mariella Frostrup, Daisy McAndrew and Johnny Vegas are all to discover crimes their ancestors have committed, dating back to the Victorian Era.
Building many of the prisons still in use today such as Strangeways and Pentonville, the Victorians lived in a time that was rich with story and personality.
Prisoners in that time were subjected to isolation and hard labour, with the alternative being transportation or the death penalty.
Len Goodman / Credit: ITVGiving an insight into the Victorian penal system, the show will first look at Len Goodman's great-great grandfather James Blackhall and more interestingly, his son Henry who assaulted him.
Visiting the Old Bailey, Len finds out what happened when his great-great grandfather gave evidence against his own son, and is shocked when he realises that Henry threatened to kill his father with a pickaxe, assaulted his mother and was sentenced to five years penal servitude.
“He was obviously a hooligan, basically, out of control, and with a vicious temper. Well, I think Henry got his just desserts.” says Len.
Check out the preview clip below from the episode and check out Secrets From The Clink this Wednesday, August 6 at 9pm on ITV.
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