The award-winning actor took a DNA test to trace his ancestry and was left reeling by the results
John Simm had his world turned upside down after participating in a new ITV series, revealing “everything I thought I knew wasn’t real”. The ‘Life On Mars’ and ‘Doctor Who’ star joined the TV show ‘DNA Journey With Ancestry’ alongside close friend and fellow actor Phil Glenister to delve into their family histories.
However, Simm was left stunned when he discovered the man he thought was his dad is not his biological father. He said: “So cut a long story short, the DNA results came back, and my dad, he’s not my dad.”
The programme kicks off with John recounting an email and subsequent chat with his mum Brenda before undergoing a DNA test as part of the show’s filming last year. His dad, Ronald Simm, passed away in 2015.
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He said: “When they had me, in the sixties, they were both young…they were together and then they split up and were both with other people and then they got back together and then they had me. And I’d never heard this story before.”, reports the Mirror.
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John goes on to describe how his parents consulted a doctor, saying: “And the doctor said: ‘It’s absolutely fine, the dates are fine.’ But it turns out he isn’t my biological father. Which is a bit of a shock.”
Raised alongside two sisters, John admits he considered dropping out of the documentary but ultimately chose to continue and use the opportunity to learn about his biological dad, named Terence. He expresses relief his dad Ron isn’t alive to face the revelation which has deeply affected his mum Brenda.
In an emotional turn in the film, John and fellow Life on Mars star Phil arrive in Featherstone, Yorkshire, where a local historian shares the news John’s biological dad passed on in 1998. They travel into John’s dad’s past, exploring his upbringing and making a startling revelation: John had unknowingly trodden the same grounds and frequented the same clubs as his Terrence during his teenage years.
Reflecting on this discovery, John said: “The thing that blows my mind, me and my dad, we played around here loads of times, we definitely played here a lot and he might have been in the same pub one night and watched me play.”
The search continues as they meet a steward with deep roots in the community who informs John his dad once resided above a local working men’s club. Struck by the coincidences, John said: “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 clubs. It’s one of those mad, Back To The Future, Life On Mars things.”
The narrative moves viewers as John is confronted with photographs of Terence and discovers further details of his life, most notably the existence of a half-sister named Karen, who he never knew about.
After digesting the wave of information, John has an emotive encounter with his half-sister, who reveals their dad Terence, affectionately called Tel, also harboured a love for the stage and enjoyed singing.
John shared how the unexpected discoveries shed light on why he always “felt a bit different” during his childhood alongside his sisters Carol and Nicola. He remains astonished at the thought that his biological dad might have watched him perform live without either of them knowing.
In conversation with Karen, he revealed: “If he happened to be in on a Friday or a Saturday night in one of those clubs, he would have seen me play. Wow, that’s mad, isn’t it? Yeah, that’s really bizarre. Mind blowing.”
When questioned about his emotional response to the revelations, he confided: “I mean, I was really close to my dad. He was like my best mate. But having said that, there was always something, I don’t know what it was, I really felt different. And I always felt a bit guilty about it. But a lot of things sort of fall in this place. I kind of feel not guilty about feeling different.”
John tied the knot with his partner Kate Magowan in 2004, and they are proud parents to their two children, son Ryan and daughter Mollie. Catch the new season of DNA Journey with Ancestry as it kicks off on ITV1 and ITVX come October 9, featuring John Simm and Philip Glenister in the opening episode.
