When Scottish author JK Rowling agreed to take part in the popular BBC1 Ancestry show, Who Do You Think You Are, the talented writer may have got more than she bargained for.

The genius writer is nothing short of a legend in the hearts of millions, she has earned respect for showing great courage, determination, and facing many personal battles in order to get the adventures of boy wizard Harry Potter published.

But despite all her strength of character, JK Rowling, 46, found herself reduced to tears on several occasions during the filming of the show as the secrets of her late mother’s family were revealed to her.

Featured in the BBC1 Ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are, viewers will have the rare opportunity to see the extremely private writer discover that three of her ancestors were single-mothers at some point in their lives just like herself, and she will also have the chance to get to the bottom of her family’s heart-breaking experiences that took place in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

“I was braced for surprises and I certainly got plenty of those.

“I probably felt as everyone does when they agree to be the subject of this programme:

“Excited, Apprehensive, very curious, and definitely nervous.

“I think I cried on three separate occasions”, said JK Rowling who was devastated when she lost her quarter French mother Anne to multiple sclerosis in 1990:

“Mum died when I had just started writing Harry Potter.

“It is a real regret that I never even mentioned it to her, that she died without knowing anything about something so huge.

“My mother was very interested in her french roots but never had the chance to explore them.

“So a huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother.

“It’s very bound up in that loss.

“There were a lot of big surprises.

“Some wonderful and one rather upsetting.

“However, I went into the programme wanting the truth, no matter what it was, because I knew so little about my French ancestry, and I don’t regret a moment of it.

“It is humbling to see yourself as a tiny part of a huge family tree.

“But it is also strangely reassuring” added the multi-millionairess.

Who Do You Think You Are is back with a brand new series on BBC1 August 10 at 9pm.