Strictly Come Dancing host Josh Widdicombe became visibly emotional while learning how one of his ancestors was beheaded for high treason during an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?. The comedian, who grew up in Devon, was exploring his family history when he came across Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland.
Rich, his 10-times-great-grandfather, was a close friend of King Charles I when the civil war broke out in the mid-1600s. By 1646, the Parliamentarians had won and Rich found himself on the wrong side. Historian Professor Mark Stoyle revealed how in 1649 the king was executed and Rich was convicted of treason, and was "sentenced to death by the severing of his head from his body".
Reading the Pamphlets
"Very brutal, isn't it?" Josh admitted, exasperated, as he read on in a news pamphlet. "Would this have been a public execution?" he asked. "Yes, very public," the expert shared. "He would have known there would be huge crowds gathering to watch this."
Josh went on to read a pamphlet documenting the beheading, saying: "The Earl of Holland came in a long gown of silk lined with fur that he wore at his trial. He was upon the scaffold nigh an hour before he was beheaded."
"That's quite shocking to think that you're just up there knowing what's going to happen. An hour in front of everyone - what's going through your mind? What are you talking about?" he reflected.
Final Moments and Family
The pamphlet continued: "Afterwards he went to the end of the scaffold and there he put off his hat to the people and, leaning upon the rail with his hat off and in his hand, he made a speech to them."
Josh sighed with emotion as he read how his ancestor had asked for forgiveness, reading on: "The Earl of Holland lay down upon the block and then prayed a while and then, giving the sign, the executioner cut his head off with one strike."
Reflecting on what he had just heard, Josh said: "It's a pretty intense read, even considering it was so long ago, it feels pretty horrible to think what that must have been like for Henry, giving the say so to end your own life. I don't know what you think you are going to turn up on this, but it's not this, is it?"
Rich was 58 years old when he was executed outside the doors of Parliament and he left a widow, Isabelle, and eight children. "It is shocking," Josh observed. "Particularly when you consider it is going on in Westminster. That man we saw in the painting, he just is the king's mate, after all, isn't he? He's not a fighter or warrior, but there is a courage to the way he has held himself in the last hour of his life I can't imagine possessing myself."
Anne Boleyn Connection
Elsewhere in the repeat episode, which originally aired back in October 2021, Josh was stunned when he realised his 14-times-great-aunt is Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. In June 2025, the comedian returned to Hever Castle to unveil a Tudor portrait of Anne Boleyn, which hangs in the Castle's historic Great Chamber.
He said during the visit: "It is a huge honour to be invited back to my family home to unveil this picture. Ever since Who Do You Think You Are?, I've been presuming this day would come." Who Do You Think You Are? is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
