I DON'T suppose too many viewers will have been upset at watching the bullying Jeremy Paxman blubbing thrice on Who Do You Think You Are?" when confronted by the grim realities endured by his ancestors.

Jeremy Clarkson didn't weep in an earlier programme, but it came as no surprise that not only did this bombast not know about the world-renowned Kilner jars, but that one of his own ancestors had invented and manufactured them.

Such a contrast and pleasure then to watch Sheila Hancock unravelling the mystery of her "strange" dancing grandma, with only the merest hint of a tear at the end.

This programme is proving to be superb at showing us the true person behind the public image, at the same time kindling interest in our heritage.

Nothing could have been more evocative than Jeremy Paxman imagining how 10 or more people could exist in the tiny hovel which Glasgow Council has preserved in its original state, or failing to appreciate that the poor went for their weekly "dole-out" because that was the only thing keeping them alive, or reading the manifest listing the ancestors who had emigrated by canal, along with thousands of others, to find work in our dark satanic mills.

If only Glasgow's attitude were matched by those responsible for the Padiham Workhouse, which is being allowed to fall into total disrepair.

So far as I know this is the only workhouse in the area, and perhaps elsewhere which has not become the local hospital.

If we can have a textiles museum in Helmshore, why not a working history lesson in Padiham?

J D MORTIMER (Mr), Edge End Lane, Great Harwood.