Annie Lennox speaks of pride in her ancestors

Published on 15/08/2012 00:18

ANNIE Lennox has told of her pride in her ancestors despite discovering one of them had scandalised Scottish society.

The singer uncovered startling revelations about her family history while filming a forthcoming episode of BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?.

The Aberdeen-born Eurythmics star learned that her great-great-grandmother, Isabella McHardy, was brought before the Kirk Session in 1852 after giving birth to an illegitimate child. Miss McHardy – who never married – was called before the elders of the Church of Scotland and shamed for her affair with William Ferguson.

Lennox said: “I am deeply proud of my forebears, and the fact that they lived and survived in conditions that could only be described as barely tolerable in this day and age. And, more pertinently, I’m especially proud of the female lineage.”

The episode airs on the BBC on 5 September.