Sporty Spice Mel C's shock as she discovers her great grandma was a loan shark By Chris Hastings Published: 17:12 EDT, 17 August 2024 | Updated: 17:12 EDT, 17 August 2024 e-mail View comments Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm has found a dubious example of 'girl power' in her family tree. The chart-topping star has discovered that her great-grandmother Mary Bilsborough was a money lender who charged 'exorbitant' rates of interest to her neighbours. Chisholm learns about the formidable- looking Bilsborough in an upcoming edition of the hit genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are ? She told the programme: 'My great-grandmother Mary is listed as being a money lender, and I really don't know what that means.
I imagine some big burly guy battering your door down to get the money back, and that was what my great-grandmother was doing.' Bilsborough was one of more than 1,300 money lenders – the vast majority of them women – operating in Liverpool in the 1920s and 30s. The mother of nine was herself living in dire poverty.
By loaning small sums to neighbours, she was able to feed her family. Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm has found a dubious example of 'girl power' in her family tree on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? The chart-topping star has discovered that her great-grandmother Mary Bilsborough was a money lender who charged 'exorbitant' rates of interest But Chisholm, 50, was also presented with evidence that many lenders were 'terrible bullies' who charged interest of up to .