Why do English people look German?

[sarahlayton06]

Why do some white English people (especially women not so much men) look so extremely German? Not French or Italian or Spanish but German.

This is not so much the case with Welsh or Irish or Scottish people.

For example, don’t you think Samantha Womack (who plays Ronnie Mitchell in Eastenders) looks extremely German?

Whenever I'm abroad with my family and we are approached by locals, they always ask if we are English or German. So we've concluded we must look Germanic. Not surprising though, given the history of England. We share a tonne of language too.

When DH and I and our 2 DC were in New York, USA, some 2 decades ago, we were mistaken for Irish, Swedish, and German. (By various people there.)

From school German exchanges I mostly remember that although both parties had a mix of (predominantly pale-skinned) hair and eye colours, the German teens were all much taller and generally healthier-looking/more sporty than their English counterparts and made us all look rather chronically malnourished.

We have exactly the same. Scottish side are tall, pale, gingery blondes and Irish side olive skinned with black hair and short, solid bodies.

OMG! That's why my eldest has a head like a cardboard box! Honestly it's huge! (episiotomy here)