John Simm says finding out dad wasn't biological father on DNA series felt ‘vindicating'

Independent

21-04-2025

Doctor Who actor John Simm has said that finding out his dad was not his biological father felt vindicating and 'explained a lot'.
The 54-year-old Life on Mars star appeared on ITV 's DNA Journey last year, where he learnt that his biological father was not his beloved dad Ronald Simm, who died in 2015, but a club manager from Lancashire called Terence.
Speaking to The Telegraph in a new interview, Simm said the revelation rocked his world but didn't surprise him.
'It explained a lot. I always felt guilty for feeling a bit different to my family and for leaving at 16. So when I found out, I felt vindicated. I hadn't been going mad.'
However, he was thrown by the realisation that he had met Terence on numerous occasions in the past.
'He used to run a couple of the clubs where me and my dad played. I'd have shaken his hand, he would have watched us and paid us, and he'd have probably seen me on TV,' said Simm.
'And yet none of us knew anything. That's a crazy Life on Mars, Back to the Future -style scenario.'
He added that he's made peace with the realisation now, saying: 'I'm not damaged by it. My dad is still my dad.'
Simm had taken part in the TV show alongside his Life on Mars co-star Philip Glenister so that his friend would not have to take part alone. But it was Simm whose life was altered by what he learnt from taking part in the series.
Speaking on the episode, Simm said: 'It's turned out to be such a massive thing in my life and all I was doing was a favour for Phil so he didn't have to do it on his own. It's spun my world... everything I thought I knew wasn't real.'
The Grace actor considered quitting the show after making the discovery but decided to use the experts for information on his real father.
In the episode, Simm learnt that Terence is dead, but was told he worked at the same clubs that Simm and Ronald, who was a musician, would play gigs at.
He said: 'I can't get it out of my head because we played this area in the 1980s and he was here – he was working in men's clubs.'
Simm then revealed a conversation he had with his mother before filming the show that took on new light after his astonishing discovery.
He learnt that his mother and Ronald initially split and got back together when they welcomed John.
'When they had me, in the 1960s, they were both young,' he said. 'They were together and then they split up and were both with other people and then they got back together and then they had me. And I'd never heard this story before.'
Simm is best known for playing The Master in the BBC's long-running series Doctor Who as well as DI Sam Tyler in the BBC sci-fi series .