John Simm’s entire life was flipped upside down when he took a DNA test for ITV’s “DNA Journey with Ancestry.”
The “Doctor Who” star participated in the show as “a favor” to his good friend and colleague Philip Glenister, and had no idea that the information that would be uncovered would change every aspect of his life. Simm discovered that his late father, Ronald, was not his biological father, according to The Telegraph.
“It spun my world, and everything I thought I knew wasn’t real,” Simm said.
The 54-year-old was stunned to learn that the man he thought was his father his whole life – the late Ronald Simm – was not related by blood.
The episode kicked off with Simm recalling a conversation he had with his mother before taking the DNA test. He said his parents were both very young when they had him in the 1960s.
“They were together and then split up and were both with other people, and then they got back together and then they had me,” Simm said, according to The Telegraph.
“And I’d never heard this story before,” he said.
PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 10: John Simm attends the 2017 Winter TCA Tour – Disney/ABC on January 10, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage) Getty Images
Simm was born in Leeds and spent his childhood playing guitar with his father Ronald, a musician. The two played in working men’s clubs, according to The Telegraph. In a stunning twist, the famous actor discovered his biological father used to live in the very same area, and he frequented the same clubs. In prvious interviews, Simm recalled sharing a very close bond with Ronald, which was strengthened by their time performing together. He said he was forced to live with his mother at the age of 13, when his parents divorced, and he remembered that as being a strange, transitional time for him, according to The Telegraph.
“I can’t get it out of my head, because we played this area in the 80s and he was here and he was in working men’s club,” Simms said.
“It’s one of those mad, Back To The Future, Life On Mars things,” he said, according to The Telegraph.
PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 10: John Simm attends the 2017 Winter TCA Tour – Disney/ABC on January 10, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage) Getty Images
The show took Simm on a path of discovery as he embarked on uncovering more information about the biological father he had never met. He worked alongside a team of various experts and historians to track down his real dad, and eventually learned that he had passed away.
The famous actor learned he had a half-sister, and was able to meet her for the first time. She shared photographs and videos of their father, in an experience Simm described as “such a massive thing in my life.” (RELATED: Dolly Parton Finds Out She’s Related To One Of World’s Biggest Pop Stars)
DNA Journey with Ancestry airs Oct 9 at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
