Actress Emily Atack has opened up about her significant family ties to Sir Paul McCartney, describing the musician as a staple of her upbringing. The 36-year-old actress recently detailed these connections, which stretch from the height of Beatlemania in Liverpool to the quiet estates of East Sussex.

The Liverpool roots of Kate Robbins and the Mount Road "madhouse"

The connection between the Atack and McCartney families is deeply rooted in the musical history of Liverpool. Atack's mother, actress and comedienne Kate Robbins, experienced the height of Beatlemania firsthand while living on Mount Road. As the source reports, Robbins recalls the house being a "madhouse" where the doors were constantly open to visitors.

In a striking piece of family history, Robbins remembers John Lennon and Paul McCartney frequently visiting to babysit the children while her parents worked at a local pub. This close-knit, creative, and often chaotic environment helped shape the early years of the legendary musicians, with McCartney viewing Atack's grandmother, Betty, as a significant auntie figure during his formative years.

A missed Sunday lunch with Michael Jackson in East Sussex

The proximity to musical royalty extended into Atack's own childhood through visits to McCartney's rural estate in East Sussex. During these visits, the family enjoyed the vast acres of land and the stables maintained by McCartney and his late wife, Linda. However, these peaceful visits were not without near-misses with other global icons.

According to Atack's account on the How To Fail podcast with Elizabeth Day, a planned Sunday lunch at the estate nearly resulted in a meeting with Michael Jackson. Atack noted that McCartney informed her she had "just missed" the pop star, a disappointment that left the young actress "fuming." This anecdote highlights the intersection of two of the 20th century's greatest musical legacies, even if the encounter never materialized.

The relationship between McCartney and Jackson was famously complex. While they collaborated on the hit "The Girl Is Mine" for the 1982 Thriller album, the source notes that their friendship deteriorated three years later following Jackson's acquisition of the Beatles' publishing rights.

The 60-year-old letter discovered on Who Do You Think You Are

Atack's genealogical journey has provided tangible evidence of her family's long-standing history. While appearing on the BBC program Who Do You Think You Are, the actress uncovered a piece of history dating back over six decades.

The discovery included a letter written by a young Paul McCartney to his relative, Mike Robbins, an entertainment manager at the Butlins holiday resort. In the correspondence, McCartney humorously expressed his desire to find work at the resort, noting that he and two friends were looking for a "good time" that summer. This document serves as a personal window into the life of a future icon before he achieved global superstardom.

The unresolved details of the McCartney-Jackson fallout

While the history of the McCartney and Jackson connection is well-documented in terms of their professional friction, several aspects of the personal narrative remain unexamined. The source mentions the souring of their friendship due to the Beatles' publishing rights, but it does not elaborate on the specific emotional or personal impact this had on their respective circles.

Furthermore , while Atack describes the family bond as "the coolest thing on earth," the report does not clarify how much of this connection is actively maintained in the present day . It remains unclear whether the current generation of the Atack family maintains regular contact with the McCartney estate or if these memories are primarily reflections of a bygone era of musical history.