EXCLUSIVE: Pixie Lott moved to tears after learning of her family's poverty in London workhouses
Pixie Lott gets emotional on a future episode of Who Do You Think You Are? as the singer discovers how her family experienced severe poverty in London's horrific workhouses
Pixie Lott wept after hearing how her family came from severe poverty and struggled to survive illness in London’s tough workhouses.
The singer, 30, learned about her harrowing history while appearing on BBC ’s Who Do You Think You Are?
Pixie is told her family on her Dad’s side were kicked out of their home after moving to East London from Ireland.
They moved to a Victorian workhouse at the end of the 19th century, when many who lived in them died in poor conditions.
Tears fell as Pixie discovered her maternal great grandmother, Mary Fleming, born in 1889, was orphaned at 13. She had lost many of her 10 siblings at an early age.
Mary lived in workhouses, having been put on the street with her family when she was two.
Pixie, who competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, said: "I was really shocked to hear how tragic her story was.
"I have friends that know their great grandmothers. So I feel like it’s not that far back. But yet her world was so different to mine. I couldn’t believe what I learnt about their living conditions.
"One thing that was clear that they tried to stick together, and we have that in our family, definitely.
Also, that the workhouse we visited that they lived in for a time, was down the road to where I’ve been living for the past 10 years."
There was happier news about her mother’s side of the family.
Her parents Stephen and Beverley are not musical but a number of her descendants were military musicians, showing that Pixie’s talents run in the family.
Great grandfather John Frederick was an amateur musician in the Royal Marines and great, great grandfather William Martin was in an Army military band.
Pixie’s great, great, great grandfather John Martin served for 26 years in the 2nd Life Guards, part of the Household Cavalry.
Pixie said: "I was extremely happy to find I have musicians in the family. I always thought I was the only one to do music as an occupation.
"It makes more sense now as to why I went into it myself!"
She later learns her great grandad Joseph Lott became a prisoner of war in the First World War.
She said: "The first battle that he was involved in sounds horrendous, and then being captured. I can’t even imagine what Joseph went through."
Watch Pixie Lott on Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC1 on November 9 at 9pm.
