In a final remarkable twist, Keegan also learns that suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst registered the birth of Elizabeth and John’s daughter. Pankhurst worked as a registrar of births and deaths in Manchester in the late 19th century, and later said that the experience shaped her belief in the need for gender equality.

In her 1914 autobiography My Own Story, Pankhurst wrote: “I was shocked to be reminded over and over again of the little respect there was in the world for women and children. I have had little girls of thirteen come to my office to register the births of their babies.”

As well as learning about her family’s radical feminist roots, Keegan’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? also sees her discovering that some of her ancestors came from Italy.

“I’m sure my great-great-great-grandkids would watch the show in 100 years from now and think no way were we part of the suffragette movement and no way we got Italian roots, so it’s something that has dawned that is really special that all the family members can look back on,” she says.

“I can’t believe it’s only 100 years ago,” she continues. “If you say it in your head it doesn’t seem like very long. It wasn’t even that long ago when this happened.”

Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Michelle Keegan will air on BBC One on 6 June at 9pm. Read our interview with Keegan here – and if you want to discover if you have any suffragette ancestors of your own, this clever tool will help you do just that.

Stylist’s Visible Women campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of women – past and present – who’ve made a difference to society. See more from Visible Women here.

Michelle Keegan discovers her remarkable connection to Emmeline Pankhurst