Daniel Radcliffe Has Revealed Some of His Never-Before-Seen Childhood Pictures

Ever since it was announced that Daniel Radcliffe would be appearing on the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?, Potterheads have been excitedly waiting to see what amazing stories would be uncovered about his family’s history. For those unfamiliar with the show, it focuses on exploring celebrities’ personal histories. The episode aired on July 22 and with it, brought some amazing never-before-seen photos of Radcliffe as a child. We’re not crying, you’re crying.

The pictures Radcliffe shared date back to his Harry Potter days, and there were a few that date back even further. One picture that really got fans excited was one where Radcliffe is wearing a Gryffindor T-shirt, cuddling with his two dogs. Radcliffe was 13 at the time, and die-hard fans would know that the two dogs went by the names of Binka and Nugget.

Credit: BBC Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Marcia Gresham

There was also a photograph of three-year-old Radcliffe feeding ducks, which might just be one of the sweetest pictures you’ll ever see.

Credit: BBC Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Marcia Gresham

Among all the amazing photos, there was also one of Radcliffe with his parents when he was a mere two years old, visiting Bantham Beach in Devon, England.

Credit: BBC Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Marcia Gresham

Along with all the amazing photographs, Radcliffe, along with his fans, got to learn quite a bit about his family’s history.

One of the saddest stories that came to light was that of his great-grandfather, Samuel Gershon. He died committing suicide in 1936 at the age of 42 after his jewelry shop was robbed during “the infamous Hatton Garden raid.” He was facing bankruptcy and wrote a suicide note to his wife, Doll, before he took his life. A part of the note read, “I can assure you, my angel, to leave a girl like you is more than a wrench.” Police officers suggested that Gershon committed suicide because he was in cahoots with the criminals. A police document at the time implied that Gershon was responsible for bringing down his own business because, according to them, that’s the kind of thing Jews did.

When Radcliffe heard the story, he broke down in tears. He found it “very jarring” to see how being a Jew was treated as evidence against Gershon. He said that he wished he could just reach back in time and convince Gershon that he would get through it.

You want to reach into the past and just go: ‘Whatever you’re going through, you have so much to offer the people who are around you still… you have so much to give to them. And they still would all have loved you.

Radcliffe knows a thing or two about hitting rock bottom. He opened up about his struggle with alcohol abuse last year, saying that it became his refuge to cope with the pressures of fame.

In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched was to get very drunk, and then as you get very drunk, you become aware that, oh, people are watching more now because now I’m getting very drunk, so I should probably drink more to ignore that more.

Radcliffe was also shown a picture from the 1800s of another one of his relatives, Louis Gershon, who happens to look a lot like Radcliffe.

Credit: BBC Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Louis Gershon

Taking a peek at some of these unseen photos is truly a thrilling experience – and it’s giving us some serious nostalgia. Radcliffe’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? is not yet available to stream in the United States, but keep an eye out on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and other services to be one of the first to see it when it is released.

In the meantime, you can watch the trailer below.