Posted on October 19, 2021

Alex Scott Tearful as She Finds Out Ancestor Owned 26 Slaves

Louise Griffin, Metro, October 16, 2021

Alex Scott was left emotional in an upcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are? after finding out that one of her ancestors owned 26 slaves.

In the series, football pundit Alex travels to Jamaica for the first time in her life to trace her dad’s side of the family.

The 37-year-old was horrified to learn that her 4x great grandfather Robert Francis Coombes had owned slaves, and was shown the records of the people he enslaved between 1817 and 1832.

‘In my family line – this doesn’t sound right coming out of my mouth – but Robert Francis Coombs owned people?’ she said

She added: ‘In terms of explaining my emotion behind it, I suppose that goes against everything that I stand for, who I am.’

Alex went on to say: ‘I was very aware we may be delving into the topic of slavery, but I really did believe I’d be learning about my family as slaves, not the other side, as the slave owners.’

‘It was hard to take,’ she added. ‘That ownership of a human life is so wrong. I don’t think that stories are told a lot about black people owning slaves.’

Despite being shocked about the details, Alex said she is glad to have found out more about her family’s past.

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