GeraldineArt4

Stunning Cracker star Geraldine Somerville has a secret that even super sleuth Fitz couldn't crack - she is a blue-blooded aristocrat related to the Royal Family.

The actress known to millions as rape victim Det. Sgt. Jane Penhaligon has a rich family heritage light years away from the crime-ridden streets her character roams.

Red-haired Geraldine - who stars in the hard-hitting ITV drama series with Robbie Coltrane - has never spoken about her noble family or the bloodline that links her with the Queen.

She has dumped her double-barreled surname and has kept quiet about the regal role of honour that marks her family tree.

But now The People can reveal that the 27-year-old drama queen

- is descended from past Kings of England, Scotland, and France
- is a distant relation of the current British Royal Family
- has ancestors who once ruled the ancient kingdom of the Isle of Man, where her parents still live.

Geraldine's forebears must have been turning in their graves as she dressed up as a prostitute in Monday's gripping episode of Cracker.

Penhaligon - known jokingly as Panhandle by Coltrane's character FItz - strutted in black stilettos and mini-skirt along the mean streets in a bid to trap a serial killer preying on vice girls.

But her high society parents are proud to see their younger daughter take the acting honours in some of the most harrowing scenes ever screened on British TV.

Geraldine's baronet father is Sir Quentin Charles Agnew-Somerville and her mum is the Hon Lady April Agnew-Somerville. They live in a magnificent mansion on the Isle of Man.

On an island packed with super-rich tax exiles, the Agnew-Somervilles stand apart.

They are the island's only aristocrats and are highly respected in social circles.

Sir Quentin is a financier and director of numerous companies. He is also a Lloyd's "name", and admits to being one of thousands of investors in the City of London insurance giant who together lost millions of pounds after a series of man-made and natural disasters.

But despite his losses, he still manages to maintain the huge family house, Mount Auldyn, in the quaint seaside port of Ramsey.

"I lost enough to make it painful, but I am still here," he said.

His wife runs her own exclusive antiques shop and Geraldine flew from her London home for the opening earlier this year.

Lady April's ancestors were the fabled Lords of Man, who held the crown of the island for 400 years from 1405. The title is currently held by the Queen. Her family tree can be traced back to Edward IV of England, Charles VI of Franced, and James IV of Scotland.

Princess Diana, mother of the future King, Prince William, is another distant relative.

But despite the family's ancient royal connections, it is the success of their actress daughter which has made the couple most proud.

Sir Quentin is a big fan of Cracker and marvels at Geraldine's often moving TV performances.

Speaking for the first time about Geraldine's career, Sir Quentin said: "I admire her immensely for her ability to play roles like that, which require a lot of intense concentration."

He never worries about his delicate daughter playing gritty roles such as Penhaligon, or the possible effect on the family's good name.

In the past, he has seen Geraldine's character attacked by a hooded rapist and have an affair with heavyweight Fitz, a married criminal psychologist in the series whose wife has just had a baby.

Cracker won numerous TV awards. But it has also been criticized for its explicit scenes of violence - particularly against women.

But Sir Quentin insists: "I am not the slightest bit concerned about it. Geraldine is an actress and she must be prepared to play the most dramatic parts.

"Geraldine has got an immense talent. My wife and I are extremely proud of her. I just hope that her career continues to advance."

Sir Quentin also hopes his daughter finds a role in the future which fully shows off her natural beauty - often hidden by Penhaligon's masculine dress sense and no-nonsense hair style.

"She has hardly ever been allowed to look like a pretty young girl," he sighed.

Sir Quentin revealed how Geraldine's potential was spotted at an early age by a family friend, who suggested the little girl should try for a career on the stage.

She went to dance classes from the age of six and, at the tender age of eight, Geraldine was sent to a boarding school in Tring, Hertfordshire. There she was taught ballet. She left at 16, but continued her studies in London and ended up at the Guildhall Drama School in London.

"She had made her mind up that she wanted to go onto the stage," said Sir Quentin.

He believes Geraldine's tough schooldays gave her the discipline and iron-will needed to take on powerful roles like Jane Penhaligon.

"Her boarding school was extremely good because it gave her an enormous sense of self-disciipline.

"The discipline stood her in good stead. To make something like Cracker, working extremely odd hours, getting up at five in the morning and working late, if you don't have enough will power you won't survive."

Geraldine has an elder sister, Amelia, 29, who runs a restaurant with her husband in the Australian rain forest, and a younger brother, Lockett, 25, who works in Hong Kong.

Both follow Geraldine's career closely and never miss an episode of Cracker.

"The program goes right around the world now, so they see it more or less the same time as we do over here," said Sir Quentin.

Geraldine was one of the guests at her sister's marriage in 1992, which was billed as the Wedding of the Year in the Isle of Man.

The actress, wearing a beautiful sexy black bodice and flowing dress, read a poem by C. Day-Lewis at the ceremony - which was extensively reported in the island's society magazine, Manx Life.

But so far Geraldine has resisted the temptation to star herself as a bride.

Fiercely protective of her private life, Geraldine lives alone at her London flat. But she does admit to having a boyfriernd called Bill, whom she has managed to keep out of the public eye.

Geraldine's role as Penhaligon has thrust her into the national spotlight, but it has also had a downside.

She has admitted that playing the part of a sex attack victim left a mark on her.

Geraldine said recently: "For a while, every time I switched on the telly there would be a program about rape.

"Every time I opened the paper I'd immediately spot a rape story.

"You'd find yourself being soaked in that dark world, and when you come out of it, after five or six months of Cracker, it's hard to remember what life was like before."

Geraldine is full of praise for Coltrane, a TV comic turned serious actor who has won rave reviews as Fitz.

She says: "He is the most warm, funny person you could ever hope to meet. He makes everyyone laugh."

She landed the part of Penhaligon despite running late for the audition.

And she believes the fear of being wheel-clamped as she left her car on a meter helped her get the job.

"Because it was miles away from the TV studios I was sure the meter would run out and I'd be clamped," she said.

"So I must have looked annoyed and maybe that's why I got the part, because they saw I could act like that."