Fred Sirieix 'emotional' as family discovery leaves him 'lost for words'

Fred Sirieix was left "lost for words" following a moving discovery about his ancestry on Who Do You Think You Are?

Though known as the nation's favourite Frenchman from his stint on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Fred has actually spent more time in Britain than his native France.

In the gripping Tuesday evening (May 27) episode of the BBC series, viewers see Fred return to France to delve into his past.

Although the lineage of his father's family in Limoges, spanning numerous generations, is well-known to him, the history of his mother's side remains shrouded in ambiguity, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Family lore purports that his maternal grandparents' romance blossomed during the Second World War, with his grandfather Rene enduring captivity as a war prisoner in Burgundy and his grandmother Genevieve living locally as a young woman.

Legend has it that Rene made a daring escape from Nazi dominion to the liberation of Free France, whereupon Genevieve ultimately reunited with him. Enthralled by their romantic saga, Fred embarks on a detective mission to unearth details of their past.

Journeying to Burgundy, Fred collaborates with military historian Dr Sarah Frank. She informs him that early in the conflict, Rene indeed fell into Nazi capture.

Subsequently forced into agricultural labour, Fred surmises this era as the likely period that gave rise to the meeting between Rene and his future wife, Genevieve.

As the narrative unfolds in Coulanges, the hometown of Genevieve, Fred encounters a German wartime document categorising his grandfather as an escapee, thereby validating the extraordinary family anecdote.

Fred, visibly moved, disclosed to Sarah: "This is very personal and I'm feeling very emotional. I can't believe it's here where he was. I can't believe it. I'm lost for words."

Then Sarah suggests that local assistance would have been crucial to the escape, potentially implicating his grandmother in the daring plan.

She further highlights the courage involved by outlining the grim consequences of getting caught: they would've been shot.

Highlighting the low escape success rate among prisoners of war, Fred sees this an undeniable evidence of a real-life love story.

Fred's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs Tuesday, May 27 at 9pm on BBC One