LIFE On Mars actor John Simm discovered his father was not his real father on a trip back in time for ITV show DNA Journey.
John, 54, was in for a shock when he appeared on the program with fellow time-traveller Philip Glenister.
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John Simm, pictured with Philip Glenister, discovered his father was not his real father on a trip back in time for ITV’s DNA JourneyCredit: ITV
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John revealed he has a half-sister KarenCredit: ITV
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John discovers that his real father, Terence Naylor, died in 1998. Credit: ITV
The ITV genealogy show pairs two celebrities in an episode to make family discoveries using DNA tests.
John, who only took part because Philip, 61, asked him, said: “The DNA results came in and my dad is not my dad. Turns out he’s not my biological father, which is kind of shocking. It turned my world upside down and everything I thought I knew wasn’t real.”
He sang and played guitar with a man he called dad, Ronald Simm, in working-class clubs in Lancashire – and it turned out his real father often drank in the same places.
He added: “The thing that blows my mind is maybe he was in the same pub one night watching me play.
“It’s one of those crazy things, Back to the Future, Life on Mars.”
But John, who has two sisters, Carol and Nicola, also admitted it was an incredibly sensitive revelation as he was very close to Ronaldo, who died in 2015 aged 78.
He said: “I’m glad my dad isn’t alive to see it because I’m sure he’d be shocked and upset.”
His mother Brenda, 73, was also “absolutely devastated” by the news.
John Simm stars in new ITV detective drama Grace
He said of her and Ronaldo: “They were together and then they split up and they were both with other people and then they got back together and had me.”
Researching the series took John to Featherstone, West Yorkshire, where he discovered that his real father, Terence Naylor, had died in 1998.
But he discovered Terence has a daughter, Karen – and meets a half-sister he didn’t know he had in emotional scenes in the episode a week tomorrow.
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John Simm with wife Kate Magowan Credit: Rex
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John was in for a shock when he appeared on the program with fellow time-traveling policeman Philip Credit: PA: Press Association
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John has a DNA test on the show Credits: ITV
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