Gemma Collins satisfied she’s associated to serial killer Jack the Ripper
He was Britain’s most notorious serial killer – murdering five women and terrorising London in 1888, but was never caught.
But Gemma Collins believes she has discovered the identity of Jack the Ripper and is convinced she is related to him.
The former TOWIE star, 43, has been delving into her family tree while filming for an upcoming episode of BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?
And she soon discovered that she has ancestors who lived on Dorset Street in East London, where the infamous killer left some of his victims’ mutilated corpses.
The body of Mary Jane Kelly – who is thought to be the final Ripper victim – was discovered in a property on the street in November 1888.
Gemma Collins believes she has discovered the identity of Jack the Ripper and is convinced she is related to him after delving into her family tree while filming for an upcoming episode of BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?
The former TOWIE star, 43, discovered that she has ancestors who lived on Dorset Street in East London, where Britain’s most notorious serial killer left some of his victims’ mutilated corpses in 1888
But Gemma doesn’t think it’s a coincidence her relatives lived on same street, as she believes the notorious butcher was none other than her great-great-grandfather, William Williams.
Speaking to The Daily Star, she explained: ‘My great great grandfather worked in a workhouse and died there. I think that’s the reason they can’t find Jack The Ripper… because it was him.
‘The writing is on the wall. It could only happen to me. It would be my luck that he would be one of my relatives.’
Gemma further laid out her theory to BBC News, as she insisted: ‘No-one knows who the ripper was, but we lived next door to where a lot of his victims were being killed. You just don’t know.
‘I think I was related to him… It’s just bizarre, isn’t it? Could it be my family? Could he be alluded to be my family?’
However, the thought of being related to the brutal killer doesn’t faze the reality star, as she admitted she was ‘ecstatic’ by the possibility and said it could explain parts of her personality.
She told the Star: ‘I’m ecstatic. I always knew there was more to me and my family. The macabre of it – I just think it’s a hilarious story. Obviously the murders were terrible and I get that.
‘But how could it be that my family were on the same street as Jack The Ripper’s victims? You just couldn’t make it up. You’ve got The GC and Jack The Ripper. I’m an unusual character and that’s definitely come from somewhere.’
But Gemma doesn’t think it’s a coincidence her relatives lived on same street, as she believes the notorious butcher was none other than her great-great-grandfather, William Williams
However, the thought of being related to the brutal killer doesn’t faze the reality star, as she admitted she was ‘ecstatic’ by the possibility and said it could explain parts of her personality
Jack the Ripper’s bloody crime wave took place between August 31 and November 9, 1888, with five women all brutally hacked to death (1891 engraving of murder)
Gemma now plans to use her psychic powers to get in touch with the Ripper’s ghost via a séance, to learn more.
Jack the Ripper’s bloody crime wave took place between August 31 and November 9, 1888, with five women all brutally hacked to death.
The victims – Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly – all worked as prostitutes and had their throats slashed, with three of them also having their organs removed.
From one of the women, half a kidney was removed and sent to police officers along with a series of notes, signed off from the Ripper.
But mistakes were made during initial inquiries into the murders, with no fingerprinting being able to distinguish the difference between even human and animal blood, let alone the differences between people.
This means the true identity of Jack the Ripper could never be revealed, leaving it as one of the world’s unsolved cold cases.
There are many theories as to who the infamous serial killer was, from Queen Victoria’s surgeon Sir John Williams, who had a surgery in Whitechapel at the time, to her Grandson Prince Albert Victor who was taken to an asylum and died in 1892.
Gemma’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? also sees her reunite with her mother’s cousin, Christine, who the family had lost touch with.
Gemma’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are ? also sees her reunite with her mother’s cousin, Christine, who the family had lost touch with (pictured with mother and brother)
She also learned more about her biological grandparents, as her mother Joan (pictured) had been fostered as a child and said it had been ‘very cathartic’ for her mum to get answers
She said it was ‘unbelievable’ to learn that Christine only lived 20 minutes away from their house, and added: ‘What a shocker it’s been for them in their life to wake up and be told “You’re related to the GC”.’
She also learned more about her biological grandparents, as her mother Joan had been fostered as a child.
Historians discovered that Joan’s mother hadn’t abandoned her, but was likely taken from her by the state.
Gemma admitted it was ‘bittersweet’ to discover the details, but that it had been ‘very cathartic’ for her mother to get answers she’d been looking for.
Gemma’s Who Do You Think You Are episode airs Thursday 26 September at 9pm on BBC One.
From hell: The infamous serial killer who terrorised Victorian London… but who was he (or she)?
One book named Queen Victoria’s surgeon Sir John Williams (above), who had a surgery in Whitechapel at the time, as Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper is thought to have killed at least five young women in Whitechapel, East London, between August 31 and November 9, 1888, but was never caught.
Numerous individuals have been accused of being the serial killer.
At the time, police suspected the Ripper must have been a butcher, due to the way his victims were killed and the fact they were discovered near to the dockyards where meat was brought into the city.
There are several alleged links between the killer and royals. First is Sir William Gull, the royal physician. Many have accused him of helping get rid of the alleged prostitutes’ bodies, while others claim he was the Ripper himself.
A book has named Queen Victoria’s surgeon Sir John Williams as the infamous killer. He had a surgery in Whitechapel at the time.
Another theory links the murders with Queen Victoria’s grandson, Prince Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence.
At one point, cotton merchant James Maybrick was the number one suspect, following the publication of some of his diary which appeared to suggest he was the killer.
Some believe the diary to be a forgery, although no one has been able to suggest who forged it.
Other suspects include Montague John Druitt, a Dorset-born barrister. He killed himself in the Thames seven weeks after the last murder.
George Chapman, otherwise known as Severyn Kłosowski, is also a suspect after he poisoned three of his wives and was hanged in 1903.
Another suspected by police was Aaron Kosminski. He was admitted to Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum and died there.
Dr Thomas Neill Cream poisoned four London prostitutes with strychnine and was hanged in 1892.
Some of the more bizarre theories about who the murderer was include author Lewis Carroll
Some of the more bizarre links include Lewis Carroll, author of the Alice In Wonderland books, who taught at Christ Church until 1881 – which was at the forefront of the Ripper murder scenery.
Winston Churchill’s father – Lord Randolph Churchill – has also been named as a potential suspect.
Crime writer Patricia Cornwell believes she has ‘cracked’ the case by unearthing evidence that confirms the artist Walter Sickert was the prime suspect. Her theories have not been generally accepted.
Author William J Perring raised the possibility that Jack the Ripper might actually be ‘Julia’ – a Salvation Army soldier.
In The Seduction Of Mary Kelly, his novel about the life and times of the final victim, he suggests Jack the Ripper was in fact a woman.
In February 2019, it was suggested that Jack the Ripper may have been a sinister Dutch sailor who murdered two ex-wives in his homeland and bludgeoned to death two other women in Belgium.
Crime historian Dr Jan Bondeson has named Hendrik de Jong as a prime suspect for the most notorious set of unsolved murders in history.
At the time of the Whitechapel murders, de Jong is believed to have worked as a steward on a ship that made frequent trips from Rotterdam to London, providing him with the perfect means of getting out of the country after his heinous crimes.
He later murdered two of his ex-wives in his native Netherlands in 1893 and bludgeoned to death two women above a pub before attempting to set their bodies on fire in Belgium in 1898.
Police discovering the body of one of Jack the Ripper’s victims, probably Catherine Eddowes
