Victoria Pendleton: the Olympic hero discovers resilience deep in her family history

Famous faces discover their roots with Questions and Ancestors from Ancestry! In this episode, host Alex Jones is joined by double Olympic gold medalist Victoria Pendleton and senior genetic genealogist Laura House, to uncover the secrets hidden within Victoria’s family tree. Despite expecting nothing out of the ordinary, Victoria discovers an extraordinary story of resilience in her great-great-grandfather, Trevor Bannister. Born to an unmarried mother and raised with an abusive stepfather, Trevor defiantly reclaimed his maternal identity and channeled his childhood hardships into a life of profound kindness — raising his wife’s orphaned sister and spending his later years helping other orphans. Reframing her own drive and determination through the inspiring legacy of her ancestors, Victoria also shares insights from her new book, The Fear Opportunity. To see Victoria’s childhood drawing she made of her ambitions (aged 11), watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/btzrgTlBhDw?si=tcps9mYxgK7qh1KWSubscribe here for your weekly dose of Questions & Ancestors with Alex Jones and read more at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/ancestry-podcast/Questions & Ancestors with Alex Jones is brought to you by Ancestry and produced by Telegraph Media Group.CREDITS Host: Alex JonesSenior Genetic Genealogist at Ancestry: Laura House, MSc. Telegraph Media GroupExecutive producers: Tom Gadd, Andrea Paterson, Vanessa WoodgateCreative director: Jonathan Clayton-JonesVideo producer: Ed EmsleyBiscuit JimExecutive producers: Kellie Redmond, Geoff Jein#telegraph #victoriapendleton #ancestryuk #ancestrydna #familyhistory #familyhistoryresearch #dna #partnerships #podcast #alexjones #campaign #ad #celebrityinterviews #celebrityinterview Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.