26 Jan 2009

Who do you think you are? BJP on the telly

Author:

Olivier Laurent

Fiona Bruce, the BBC news-reader and former Crimewatch presenter, has found that one of her ancestors was a convicted fraudster who abandoned a failing business to escape his debtors, writes The Times newspaper.

Bruce is the subject of a forthcoming episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, the genealogy series on the BBC. Using archives from the British Journal of Photography, the BBC found that her 'great-great-grandfather, William Crouch, was sent to prison at the turn of the 20th century after attempts to establish himself as a society photographer backfired'.

In 1904, Crouch was convicted at a Westminster court of obtaining £317 (nearly £30,000 today) 'by false pretences' from would-be trainees.

More than 100 years ago, the British Journal of Photography wrote: 'The prosecution allege that no real business was done at Crouch’s ‘studio’. The pupils . . . occupied themselves by photographing one another, while Crouch spent his time at the ‘studio’ in reading the newspapers and smoking. Often there was not even a camera available for use.'

Watch the episode on 09 February on BBC1.

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