Paul Ince’s daughter was praised for being ‘lovely’ and ‘down to earth’ during her appearance on Channel 4’s Born Famous.
Ria, 17, from Cheshire, who spends her days horse riding in her ‘back garden’ swapped her luxury lifestyle for the streets of Dagenham, Essex, where her famous father grew up.
She spent a week living with a family to experience her father’s childhood and learned just how different his life was to hers.
Viewers flocked to Twitter to gush over the student who admitted she”s lucky because she ‘never really had to go without anything’, saying she was a ‘credit to her parents’.
Ria and her father Paul share a close bond and she goes back to Dagenham learn more about his childhood
Viewers praised ‘lovely’ Ria as she embraced her week away from her luxury lifestyle and got to know her host family
One wrote: ‘My favourite episode so far, Ria is lovely and so are the girls she stayed with. Their parents bank balances might be different but they’ve all been brought up extremely well, and I’m sure all will go on to be successful.
‘Really enjoyed #bornfamous what a lovely girl Ria is. All the people in Dagenham were so welcoming.’
‘Ria was a credit to her parents. You can tell she was brought up well,’ added another.
Ria was brought up in Cheshire by her parents Paul and Claire who have been married for 28 years, and her two brothers Daniel and Tom.
The former England captain said of his teenage daughter: ‘Ria from the day she was born never wanted for anything. My three kids I will always be financially supporting them, to try and give them the best opportunities in life to succeed in what their passion is.’
Her mum Claire said: ‘I would say that Paul’s relationship with Ria is very special. I would say me and the boys get left out sometimes.’
‘I want her to understand what it’s taken me and the limited choices that we had at my time. I’m hoping that she will see that,’ Paul added.
‘I’ve never really had to go without anything. I’ve only known a privileged life,’ Ria said as she headed to East London for what Paul reckoned would be a ‘culture shock’.
Ria spent time with Emiley and her best friends in the local park, which she admitted she would never normally do at home
The teen met with Paul’s childhood friend and his mother as she listened to them recall tales about her dad when he was younger
Ria is studying for her A-Levels in Latin, Spanish, Mandarin and Maths and has plans to go to university.
Her host family including Emiley, 18, lives with her mother Bobbie and two younger sisters Stephannie and Navaya, their fathers are absent.
The teen, who is cousins with Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes, said she was excited to learn about how her father grew up as he’d never taken her back to his home town or shared any stories of his childhood.
Ria, who lives in a sprawling family home that has a stable on the grounds for her horses, is stunned to see rows of terraced houses commenting ‘they’re just living on top of each other’.
‘It’s crazy to think that my dad grew up here, I’m getting all emotional,’ she added tearfully.
When she arrived at Bobbie’s home she is surprised that they have no lawn to play on and are squeezed into a small house.
Ria said she knew she had a privileged life and had only ever known growing up in Cheshire with her horses on their sprawling plot
Paul was spotted at the age of 12 by West Ham coach John Lyall, he signed up as a trainee at 14 and five years later he’d moved to Manchester United where he stayed until 1995.
He also played for Milan, Middlesborough and Liverpool and made history as the first black captain for England.
She meets with one of his best friend Billy and his mum Iris and can’t stop laughing as she hears of tales about her footballer father and play pool in the same bar they frequented as teens.
Paul and Ria’s mother Claire have been married for 28 years, and also have her two brothers Tom and Daniel
Ria spent time with Emiley and her friends in the park playing basketball and hanging out, admitting that she would never do that at home as her friends are so far away.
They witnessed another youth driving erratically around the car park as they explained that he had ‘beef’ with his fellow ‘gang members’ and how they have heard talk of threats with knives.
Ria confessed to the girls that she was ‘scared’ having never experienced anything like that in her own home town.
Bobbie said: ‘It is the culture, it is the life around here at the moment.’
As Ria goes at visits the club where her father trained as a youngster she gets emotional seeing young boys there now.
Viewers took to Twitter to praise Ria for being so humble during her stay and said that she was a ‘credit to her parents’
‘I can picture dad training like these boys, it’s really pulling on my heart strings. Given what he had when he was younger It makes you realise that life wasn’t good for him.
‘He didn’t grow up with his mum, he had to live in digs and knowing how much he loved football and how he used this as an escape.’
Paul makes a brief return to Dagenham to pick up his daughter who said she admits she is ‘envious’ of the relationship the sisters enjoy living close to each other.
Other viewers said of Ria: ‘Paul Ince I hope you are very proud of your wonderful daughter she is a real credit to you and your wife, what a lovely family you have massive respect.’
‘Was expecting diva tantrums and tears but so much poise and maturity beyond her years. Its really refreshing to see,’ said another.
One said: ‘Wow your daughter is a credit to you. What an absolute sweetheart.’