Ralf Little spoke about a “painful” family discovery.
The Death in Paradise star took to Instagram to speak about how he found out his great-grandad ditched football for religion on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?. The 42 year old actor shared a snippet from the programme which showed him in a church.
He captioned it: “Probably the worst thing I learned,” along with a cheeky laughing emoji. Ralf found out that his great-grandad ditched an international football career for a life of faith. He quipped “religion,” into the camera, as reported by the Mirror.
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Addressing his fans, Ralf confessed: “Now, not to disparage anyone’s beliefs, but I’m an atheist,” adding: “And as an atheist who loves football, that’s extremely painful to me.”
(Image: BBC)
His stint on the popular ancestry show was a rollercoaster of emotions, especially when he found out about his great-grandfather’s football prowess and a crucial match-winning goal, reports the Mirror. One unforgettable moment saw Ralf beam with delight when he was shown an antique team photo.
Upon spotting a young athlete, he curiously inquired, “Oh, this guy? “. Learning about his ancestor’s athletic youth left Ralf visibly stunned; he couldn’t contain his surprise.
He asked: “Oh, you see I’ve only seen pictures of him from when he was about 40. But I guess he’s, what, 20 here? ” The confirmation by the expert not only unveiled the man’s role as a forward but also highlighted match reports labelling him as the distinguished centre-forward and top scorer.
(Image: BBC)
While delving into historical records, Ralf’s attention was grabbed by a newspaper snippet about an important sporting clash, which he read aloud with reverence: “’25th March, 1894. Wales and border counties challenge cup final tie, Chirk v. Westminster Rovers’, what a headline! ” He gasped at the importance of the game, exclaiming, “Wow, okay. This is quite a big cup final, then.”
But there were also emotional moments on the programme. Ralf had to compose himself, trying not to cry while uncovering the war-torn history of his grandfather, Arthur, a World War II air mechanic.
(Image: GETTY)
The story’s narration read: “Arthur’s ship, HMS Indefatigable, was part of the British Pacific Fleet set up to assist the US in their quest to defeat Japan.” Ralf was left gobsmacked when he discovered his grandad Arthur was on board during a terrifying kamikaze attack, aimed at causing chaos with a huge bomb.
Reflecting on this jaw-dropping history, Ralf said with deep respect for his grandfather’s bravery: “What an amazing story about my grandad, that I had no idea about. I had no idea he had such a tough life, big life. He just faced hardship a lot and just took it and did it for the greater good.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
