MyHeritage Reveals the Fascinating Roots of Good Morning Britain Hosts
We are thrilled to have participated in the popular British morning show Good Morning Britain this Tuesday morning, August 6, 2024! MyHeritage VP Marketing Aaron Godfrey went on the air to reveal the DNA origins and family histories of the show’s hosts: Richard Arnold, Ed Balls, Kate Garraway, Marverine Cole, and Laura Tobin. You can view the segment below:
Each of the hosts received an envelope containing their DNA results, and Richard and Aaron provided some fascinating information about each host’s family history found by MyHeritage’s Research team. Here’s what we revealed to each of them.
Ed Balls
Ed’s DNA shows strong North and West European roots as well as Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English heritage:
MyHeritage DNA results of Ed Balls
Our Research team found that Ed’s great-grandfather, William Green Riseborough, was killed during World War II by a direct air attack on the family’s home.
The fatal incident took place on April 27, 1942, at 362 Dereham Road, Norwich in Norfolk, England. William was 65 at the time, working as a market gardener, and was married to Mary Ann (née Greenacre). He was one of 339 civilians from Norfolk who lost their lives as the result of airstrikes during WWII.
He and the other casualties were commemorated in a garden of remembrance at Norfolk, where Ed’s maternal family lived for decades.
The memorial commemorating Ed’s great-grandfather, a civilian casualty from WWII
The Research team also colorized, enhanced, and animated photo of Ed’s great-grandfather on the other side of the family, Frank Balls, who was born in October 1859 in Thorpe, Norfolk:
Frank Balls, Ed’s paternal great-grandfather. Photo colorized and enhanced by MyHeritage
Here’s a Deep Nostalgia™ animation of Frank Balls:
Ed shared that the great story about his great-grandfather is that they never knew who his father was. “His mother was called Maria Balls, so the only reason we’re called Balls as a family is because he took his mother’s name, because the father could never be identified,” says Ed. “If they’d found the father, I could have spent the last 57 years being called something like Smith or Cooper or something easier to deal with!”
This story is reflected in our research. We found a birth record for Frank Balls that lists his mother as Maria Balls:
Birth record of Frank Balls in 1859. Source: MyHeritage
The birth record mentions that he was born in the post office of Thorpe. He later appears in several censuses and in his marriage record as living there with Catherine Hill, the 53-year-old woman who ran the office. It appears that perhaps Maria worked at the post office, and when she was unable to care for her son, left him in the care of her employer, who proceeded to raise him to adulthood.
If you have sharp eyes, you may notice that the record also lists Frank’s name as “Frank Smith” — but our research was unable to determine whether “Smith” was the last name of the father or merely a middle name.
Kate Garraway
Next up was Kate Garraway. Her DNA results reflect her English and French origins:
MyHeritage DNA results of Kate Garraway
Kate also had 8,434 DNA Matches from all over the world.
Our Research team was able to double Kate’s family tree in size from 84 to 201 individuals, stretching back to 1620 Normandy. Kate’s 3rd great-grandfather, Jacques Louis Charles Flambard, was born on June 22, 1801 in Les Pieux, Normandy. Because at that time France used the French Revolutionary Calendar (marking the “era of Liberty”), the official date in his birth record is “3 Messidor Year 9.”
Birth record of Kate’s 3rd great-grandfather, Jacques Louis Charles Flambard. Source: MyHeritage
Jacques was a carpenter, and he moved to Guernsey as a result of a vast need for carpenters to support the growing shipbuilding industry there.
Kate is known for her taste in fashion, and it turns out that it runs in the family: according to the 1861 census of England, her great-great-grandmother, Marie Marceline, was a dressmaker.
Snippet from the 1861 census showing Marie (listed as Mary) and her occupation as dressmaker
Kate was floored by this discovery and exclaimed, “That’s amazing!”
Marverine Cole
Marverine’s DNA results mostly reflected her Jamaican background, but she was surprised to see a rainbow of European origins as well, and even a small percentage from West Asia:
Marverine Cole’s MyHeritage DNA results
“That makes total sense to me,” says Marverine. “My family are from Jamaica, so they must have traveled from slave ports to settle in Jamaica.” Indeed, Nigerian, Sierra Leonean, and Kenyan are among the top ethnicities in Jamaica, with the majority of the population being from West Africa.
Marverine has 844 DNA matches from all over the world. Here’s a peek at their breakdown by country:
Marverine’s potential relatives in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Denmark and more
Laura Tobin
Laura’s DNA results revealed primarily Irish, Scottish, and Welsh roots with a significant portion of Scandinavian heritage as well:
MyHeritage DNA results of Laura Tobin
Among the hundreds of DNA matches Laura received is a distant cousin from the U.S., Janine Trudel. Janine appears as either one of Laura’s parents’ second cousins, or her third cousin — implying that they share the same great-great-grandparents:
One of Laura’s DNA Matches, a cousin named Janine
We reached out to Janine, and were able to determine the exact relationship path between them:
Laura’s relationship to Janine
Janine was also able to share a photo of Laura’s paternal great-grandparents, John and Ellen Brennan:
Laura’s great-great-grandparents, John and Ellan Brennan
John’s sister Johanna is Janine’s great-grandmother. Their parents, Patrick and Johanna, are Janine and Laura’s common ancestors. Janine took a heritage trip to Ireland 9 years ago to meet her Irish cousins and learn about her family history, and she was able to share a photo of the home where Patrick and Johanna lived in County Kerry in Ireland.
Laura’s ancestral family home in Ireland
“No way, that’s crazy!” Laura exclaimed when seeing the photo.
Richard Arnold
Richard’s DNA breakdown reflects U.K., Scandinavian, and Eastern European roots with a touch of Balkan:
Richard Arnold’s MyHeritage DNA results
Richard received 6,645 DNA Matches, mainly from the U.S., U.K., Australia, and the Scandinavian countries.
Our Research team built a family tree going back 8 generations in Berkshire and Hampshire. Among Arnold’s ancestors, we found a coachman, a cook, a platelayer, a boot and shoe repairer, and a hawker, among others!
Arnold’s great-grandmother, Rose Arnold, was one of 11 kids living in a small 4-room home. When she was in her late teens, she was sent to be a domestic cook, and she became pregnant. She was forced to make the difficult decision of placing her child in foster care, and Arnold’s grandfather Frederick was sent to live 200 miles away in Salford. Since his father’s identity was unknown, Frederick took his mother’s family name, Arnold — which is how Richard came to have that surname.
As a fascinating coincidence, when Frederick grew up, he grew up to marry Arnold’s grandmother Florence — who grew up on a street called Arnold Road! The censuses of 1891 and 1901 show her family living at 4 Arnold Road, and the census of 1911 shows them living just down the street at 27 Arnold Road.
The 1911 Census of England showing the Warn family living on Arnold Road
Kate summed up the segment beautifully: “Seeing the things that we’re seeing across the country at the moment, the idea that we’re all made up of such a big tapestry is really heartwarming, and important to remember.”
We hope Ed, Kate, Marverine, Laura, Richard, and all the viewers of Good Morning Britain enjoyed these incredible discoveries we made for them! Many thanks to them and to the team at Good Morning Britain, and to our researchers, Elisabeth Zetland and Naama Lanski, who uncovered all these wonderful finds.
Your own discoveries are waiting for you at MyHeritage.com. Start your family tree today!
