So she wasn't related to royalty like good ol' Danny Dyer but, Cheryl's appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? did come with quite a few talking points...
1. Cheryl always and we mean ALWAYS looks glamorous...
2. And that glamour runs in the family...
Just look at this photo of her four times grandfather, mariner John Wood Laing and his wife Caroline:
Cap at jaunty angle - tick
Bling - tick
VELVET WAISTCOAT - tick
It's no wonder Caroline couldn't resist resting her hand on his thigh.
3. John and Caroline's tale of woe was hard to take though
He'd done it all, rising from a mariners apprentice living four to a room in a poor and violent area, to eventually became captain and moving his family to the 'posh' area of town.
Cheryl could relate. Hard work pays off she explained. But then tragedy struck. His ship was lost at sea and all crew were declared dead - including John and his wayward brother James. Poor Caroline would have struggled immensely.
The ship's name? La Belle. Cue some predictions...
4. On her mum's side Cheryl discovered her great-great-great-grandfather 'Old Man Ridley' was the black sheep of the family
He'd had nine children with his wife and then following her death got the housekeeper pregnant - with twins. One of those twins was Cheryl's great-great-grandmother.
He too was quite easy on the eye...
5. Old Man Ridley was a greengrocer but then fought in the Somme.
Cheryl struggled with some aspects of this...
6. In other ways she showed a great understanding
She talked about how his quick temper may well have been the after effects of PTSD. She even laid a wreath in the soldiers memory...
7. We weren't just enamoured by her family tree.
We loved they way she arrived at her dad's house.
8. Everyone found the no surname thing a bit strange - given the circumstances
9. And finally... Cheryl's favourite word is wow.
She said it quite a lot.
