HG Nelson’s tears as his mother’s secret love exposed

HIS legendary alter ego HG Nelson has kept this sporting nation laughing for more than 30 years and given Greig Pickhaver a permanent place in the pantheon of Australian comic gods.

HIS legendary alter ego HG Nelson has kept this sporting nation laughing for more than 30 years and given Greig Pickhaver a permanent place in the pantheon of Australian comic gods.

But a painful exploration of his family’s dark past on the SBS series Who Do You Think You Are? has proved so profound, the Sydney funnyman says he now feels freed of the emotional baggage which saw him always “playing the clown”.

In one of the most extraordinary episodes of the genealogy program this year (7.30pm, Tuesday), Pickhaver initially discovers his roguish roots, with proof his great-grandfather Samuel Rinder — also the blood relative of his former Club Buggery co-star, the late TV game-show host Ian “Turps’’ Turpie — was a sheep rustler and disgraced postmaster who abandoned his family and was forced on the run for money laundering.

But it is the heartbreaking truth about Pickhaver’s own mother which has been so life-changing for the former radio and television star.

Speaking candidly about the fragile relationship he had with his late mum Beryl, Pickhaver says he was “stunned” and “overwhelmed” to find the reasons for her emotional distance — including the tragic WWII death of a secret love rival to his father.

HG Nelson explores his family’s dark past on the SBS series Who Do You Think You Are. Picture: SBS

Describing his mother’s attitude to having her children as “a ruinous burden,” Pickhaver says a treasure trove of love letters from airman Vin Mansell, a man she’d fallen for when they both worked as young teachers, explained the pain which had played out in his family’s home, especially around Anzac Day.

It was in trying to lighten that tone between his parents without knowing the reasons why, that Pickhaver says he first developed his comic talents.

“There was always this curious friction in the house and I was the go-between … trying to make peace to relieve difficult situations. But I think it’s right to say, I feel like I can drop that burden, now,” he said.

“I see a possibility beyond just being that (joker) or doing that ... without for one moment rejecting what I’ve done. Just taking off in a new direction.”

Dreaming of emerging as our equivalent of Joanna Lumley or Michael Palin, he added: “This has given me some confidence to work in completely different areas.”