They found her!

That is where you're gonna meet your brother.

-We've found her.

-Oh!

Your brother's in there.

Over the last nine years, we've helped more than 200 people find long-lost relatives.

Oh!

But meeting is just the beginning.

-Hi!

-Hello.

-Thank you for not hating me.

-No.

How easy is it to build a relationship after a lifetime apart?

-Hi.

-Hiya.

When someone comes into a family, it can turn the family upside down.

-Whoo!

Yay!

-You can't just suddenly get a new mother, it doesn't work like that.

This is the series where we find out what happened next.

Hello.

This week, a daughter's lifelong search for her mother leads to an incredible revelation.

Finding mum has been amazing.

But for her it's been the start of a new search.

They have been found.

[gasps] Oh, that's wonderful news.

And for the first time on "Long Lost Family," a daughter returns with her birth mother to the orphanage where they parted nearly 30 years ago... [woman] I'm sure she never imagined that she would step foot in that place again, let alone with her daughter that she said goodbye to there.

...and meets the siblings who never knew she existed.

[woman] Will they like me and will I like them?

I don't know these people, let alone ever lived with them.

[dramatic music playing] When the woman in our first story came to us looking for her birth mother, she unraveled a difficult family history which sparked an extraordinary chain of events.

-Happy birthday.

-Ah, lovely.

-[man] Here you go.

-For 55 years Julie Roberts had been dreaming about the woman who gave her up as a baby.

[Julie] I think of my birth mother a lot, especially on birthdays.

[on-screen] Ah, that's gorgeous.

I wonder if she's thinking of me.

To have a baby and to have to give it away, I can't imagine how hard that would have been.

I have carried the guilt, thinking that I hope I haven't ruined her life.

Julie was adopted as a baby and had a happy childhood.

She grew up knowing almost nothing about her birth mother.

[Julie] The only information that I'd got from my adoptive parents was that my mum was 18 when she gave birth.

As soon as she was old enough, Julie tracked down her adoption paperwork at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

[Julie] I found out my birth mother was called Marion Elizabeth Jones.

Seeing her signature for the first time was really emotional.

She's actually wrote that.

Sorry.

I think at my age I'm shocked that I still get sort of emotional and upset.

Julie tried everything to search for her mother, even hiring a private detective, but 30 years on she was still no closer to finding her.

[Julie] Where is she and what's she doing now?

Until I find out, it's a loss that'll never go away.

[Nicky] When we took on Julie's search, all we knew was Marion's name, age and previous address.

It took months, but we eventually found her living in Hampshire.

Marion was now a grandmother with a large family.

-Hello, Nicky.

Pleased to meet you.

Come on in.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Thank you.

-But did she still think of Julie, her first baby?

So take me back, paint a picture of your life at the time that you fell pregnant.

I was 18.

I'd been with Julie's father for months, and then all of a sudden I found out I was pregnant.

-What happened?

-I said, "Oh, I'm pregnant."

And he said, "I'm married!"

I never even saw him after that.

Me mum was adamant that I wasn't keeping the baby.

I'd brought shame to the family.

Then I went into a mother and baby home.

You don't give your baby away, they're snatched away.

You're a mother.

No matter what age you are, you're a mother and that's your child.

Terrible, isn't it?

Well, here's your baby daughter.

[Marion] Oh, my God!

Oh, she's beautiful.

Can I keep this one?

-Okay?

-Yeah, yeah.

It's just a shock.

[laughs] Now I just want to meet her.

Julie had spent 55 years wondering about her birth mother.

-Hi.

How you doing?

-Hello.

And at last I was able to give her the news she'd been waiting for.

-Hey, come on in.

-Thank you.

I can tell you that we've found Marion.

-No way!

-Yeah.

Oh, my God, Davina!

-Really?

-Yeah.

It's okay.

I'm so happy, honestly.

They're just tears of joy.

I know.

-I've got a picture.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my word!

-Do you want to see it?

-Yes, please!

Oh, my word!

That's Marion.

Aww!

Hello.

[laughs] She's beautiful.

-That is wonderful.

-Isn't it?

I actually feel like just shouting out to the world.

-I know.

-"I've found her!"

One week later, mother and daughter arranged to meet in a restaurant in Birmingham, close to where Julie was born.

-Hello.

-It's been so long.

Just feel numb.

Hello, Mum.

If I'm allowed to call you that.

Of course you are.

The last time I held you, you were a baby.

Aww.

Come and sit down, come on.

Can't believe it.

You're here.

Never, ever, ever thought this would happen.

Don't ever feel bad.

You did the right thing.

I had a lovely childhood, lots of love, but I still feel guilty that I'm a part of something that has put all this pain on you.

You've got nothing to feel guilty about.

It's me that was the guilty one.

So we've both been carrying guilt.

Oh!

Love you.

[Davina] But Julie and Marion's reunion wasn't just a happy ending.

Five months later, and it's the beginning of a whole new quest to atone for the past.

-They're ever so good together.

-Yeah.

I should have got a chihuahua, you know.

[both laughing] Despite spending over half a century apart, Julie and Marion have found they have a surprising amount in common.

[Julie] We're very similar.

We've both got a butterfly tattoo.

On our right shoulders.

Simber, I've got one.

[Julie] My dog's called Simber.

Sit.

I had a dog called Simber.

That was really strange.

[laughs] But as their relationships blossomed, Marion's found the confidence to confront a dark chapter in her life.

[Marion] It's a bit like opening Pandora's box.

Meeting Julie has made me feel like I can go forward and look for Karen and Andrew, my other two children.

[Julie] That was a bit of a shock.

I thought, "Oh, Mum, what's happened?

What have you been through?"

[Marion] I was about 23 there.

Four years after Julie was born, Marion fell pregnant with twins.

They just melted your heart.

They were so good.

They were lovely babies.

I was so proud of them.

I loved them to bits.

I really did.

But by 18 months the twins' health was failing.

They had multiple symptoms, from eating problems to development issues, and Marion was struggling to cope.

It was very difficult, and I kept going to the doctors.

I was going to the children's hospital.

And this went on for ages, and then my doctor came round and he said, "What we're gonna do, we're gonna put them in foster and we're going to see what happens if we change their environment."

It was a big, big heartbreak when, when they were taken away, but I just thought it was something that was maybe a couple of months and then they were coming back.

But they never did.

It wasn't just their health that made it hard for Marion to have her children home.

When they went to be fostered, I was in a bad place.

A violent relationship, and I felt that I should be doing more.

But I didn't know what more to do.

The twins grew up in care, and over the years, Marion had brief contact but never regained custody.

[Marion] I wasn't there to help them.

I should have done more.

I love them very much, and I'm so sorry.

For over 30 years, she's not known where they are or how to find them.

[Julie] It would mean the world to Marion to have her twins back in her life.

She never stops thinking about them.

They're your babies.

But before we take on Marion's search... in our next story Christina Barlow travelled 5,000 miles to find the birth mother who gave her up in desperate circumstances.

"One day, a long, long way away, in a beautiful country called Colombia, a baby girl was born.

She was taken to an orphanage in Bogotá where she was to be looked after."

Adopted from Colombia as a baby, Christina grew up in the home counties with her sister Gabriela, who was also adopted, and parents Jane and Steve.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

You all right?

-Yes, thanks.

-Want a cup of tea?

-Yes, please.

-Christina's parents kept home movie footage of the day they collected her from Bogotá.

[Steve] And there we all are at the orphanage, waiting for them to bring you in.

Your mum looks a little nervous.

Well, I'm not surprised, she must be.

[Christina] As a child I loved the fact that I was adopted.

My childhood was amazing.

It was full of opportunity.

I think they wanted us to have everything that we wouldn't have had in Colombia.

But in 2011, Christina's adoptive mum died after a long illness.

[Christina] My whole world fell apart that day, and there was a huge void in my life.

After experiencing loss, it's made me think about what my birth mother went through losing me.

I just knew I needed to find her.

Christina was able to piece together information about her birth mother's life from her parents' scrapbook and adoption paperwork.

[Christina] I know her name, Encarnacion Carreno.

I don't know who my father is.

But they said that my siblings had been suffering from malnutrition.

The poverty must have been on another level for her to think, "No, I can't keep my child."

How do you prepare to say goodbye knowing it's forever?

[Nicky] Working with a charity that reunites adopted Colombian children with their families, we began the search for Christina's birth mother.

Eventually, the charity found an Encarnacion Carreno living in La Mesa, outside the capital Bogotá.

She confirmed she was Christina's birth mother and agreed to meet me.

Christina has always known that her birth mother's decision was driven by poverty, but I wonder if life has got any better since for Encarnacion.

And how is she feeling now as, after 27 years, the daughter she gave up has come looking for her?

When I arrived at Encarnacion's house with a translator... -Hi, I'm Nicky.

-Hi.

...little did I know there was an extraordinary surprise in store.

Last year Christina Barlow asked us to find her birth mother, 5,000 miles away in Colombia.

After months of searching, she was found in La Mesa outside Bogotá and agreed to meet me.

Encarnacion?

Hello.

I'm Nicky.

It's very nice to meet you.

Hello.

[Nicky] Christina's father?

This is wonderful.

So you've stayed together for many years.

Christina is going to be absolutely blown away knowing that she's also gonna meet her father.

Did you think that this would ever happen?

How hard was life then?

Well... [father, sobbing] Christina wants to say thank you.

She had such a happy childhood, full of love.

[Davina] Back in the UK, I was able to tell Christina that her search had taken an unexpected turn.

-Hey, Christina.

How you doing?

-Hello, Davina.

-Good, thanks.

How are you?

-You all right?

Good, thanks.

-We've found her.

-Really?

-Mm.

-Oh, my God!

-Really?

-Yes.

But there's another piece of information that's quite big.

-Right.

-And that is that she's still with your dad.

Really?

They're a couple together?

Oh, wow!

So we do know who my dad is?

Your dad's name's Alcibiades.

Do they want to see me or to meet me?

-They do.

-Do they?

I've got a picture.

[Christina] Oh, my gosh!

Wow!

God, my heart's going.

That's amazing.

Just one month later, Christina travelled to Colombia to meet her birth parents.

[father] They arranged to meet at a hotel in the mountains.

The translator came along to help.

[father] [Christina] I feel a little bit scared, but I am so excited to have this opportunity and I never thought I would.

Hola.

Give me a hug.

I'm very excited to be meeting you.

Thank you.

[Christina] His watch was such a generous gift.

They haven't got a lot.

For me to have that meant a lot.

[Davina] It's been just over a year since Christina was reunited with her birth parents, and she remains determined to bridge the distance and the difference between her life in the UK and their lives in Colombia.

[speaking Spanish] Sí.

Es perfecto.

-Yes, yes.

-[laughs] Christina has not seen her parents since their initial reunion.

[Christina] I spent less than a week in Colombia in total.

It definitely didn't feel like enough time to get to know them.

'Cause the trip was so quick, I had to keep asking myself if it had actually happened.

You know, it was just like a burst of love and then it was like, okay, bye.

And then it was all kind of gone.

And I thought, can this be true?

Have I actually just met my, my birth family?

Or did I dream it?

Um, how do I say, "I have missed you"?

[speaking Spanish] And it's not just the distance keeping Christina and her family apart.

[Christina] It's frustrating because all of us have got so much love in our hearts to give each other and yet communicating is hard when you speak different languages.

I feel like in order to strengthen the relationship with my birth parents, I need to see them face-to-face.

With her 29th birthday approaching, Christina's returning to Colombia to celebrate it with her birth family.

Um, that looks like a pajama top, so I'd say no.

Her adoptive sister, Gabriela, is here to see her off.

-Are you nervous?

-Yes.

I still don't want them to, like, not like me, I suppose.

Oh, right, stop.

You're being ridiculous.

[Christina] This time it will be a full jumping-in situation because you know I will be staying in the house.

It does put a little bit of pressure on because I don't know these people, let alone ever lived with them.

So, yeah, I'm a bit worried.

I'm off.

See you later.

-Love you so much.

-I'll text you.

As Christina travels thousands of miles to try and cement the relationship with her birth family... -Bye!

-See you soon.

...we continue the search for the twins Marion was forced to give up nearly 50 years ago.

I want to put it right before it's too late.

I would like to see them and say sorry.

When Marion asked us to take on this search, she knew that the twins had kept the names that she'd given them, Karen and Andrew, that they'd stayed together, and that they'd been taken into care in Devon.

So that was our starting point.

Our specialist social worker accessed electoral records and eventually Karen and Andrew were found living close to each other, near Dartmoor.

Andrew doesn't want to be filmed, but Karen agreed to meet me.

For Marion, being successfully reunited with Julie has given her the confidence to reach out to the twins.

But how will Karen feel?

Has she thought about Marion over the years?

And is she prepared to let her mother back into her life?

[doorbell rings] -Hi, Karen.

-Hi, hi.

-Really nice to meet you.

-Hi.

And you.

-I'm Nicky.

-Nice to meet you, Nicky.

-Come on in.

Come on in.

-Thank you.

My goodness, you look so like your mother.

So how did you feel when you found out that Marion was trying to find you?

Uh, I think I was excited, but also with a little bit of caution as well.

-Of course.

-But it was nice to be wanted.

And that's all I think Andrew and I have ever wanted to be is, is to be wanted.

-How old were you first of all when you went into care?

-18 months.

And from then on it was just a rollercoaster of different homes, 16 of different homes.

-Sixteen!

-Quite a lot.

Yeah.

I've learnt to deal with those things and, you know, and move on best I can.

I've got three lovely children.

My husband, who I've been with now for over 30 years, he's been my rock, so I feel very lucky.

Did you think about your mother?

Oh, yes, definitely, but as time's gone on, you don't really know what your mum looks like.

Oh, my word!

Wow!

Oh, we do look the same, don't we?

[Nicky] Yeah.

[Karen] You're part of each other, yeah.

That's quite emotional, actually.

-It's good, though.

-Yeah.

Very good, yeah.

One of the reasons you were taken away from Marion was because you and Andrew were seen as not... Not thriving, yeah.

-You now understand why?

-Partly, yes.

I've been diagnosed with a condition called Chiari malformation that I was born with, which basically is a neurological condition.

Nobody would have known then 'cause it's quite rare.

So that might explain why you weren't... -Thriving, yeah.

-...doing so well, thriving when you were very young.

That is something I'd like to pass on to Marion as well.

Not for her to feel the blame.

[Nicky] Now she wanted you to have the letter.

-[Karen] Is that her writing?

-Mm.

[Karen] "I have thought of you so very much over the years with all my love and affection, wondering how you are.

And I would dearly love us to get to know each other once again.

It would be forever this time, I pray.

My love for you has never stopped.

All my love to you, Karen.

Mum."

Wow!

I'm amazed.

It means a lot.

That really does.

And I know Andrew will feel very much... much the same.

Given what's happened in your life and the difficulties that you've had growing up, how do you feel about meeting your mum?

To say "gonna see mum," that in itself I've never been able to, to use that word in that... in its true context.

So I'm really, really quite excited about it.

I think it's the first time I'm enabling myself to believe it's real.

Yeah.

[Davina] After reuniting with her first-born daughter, Julie, Marion Quigley is on a search of her own.

She hopes to find her twins after decades without contact.

[Marion] They were lovely babies.

They really were lovely babies.

I loved them to bits.

And now, while she's visiting Julie, I've tracked her down to deliver some good news.

[phone ringing] Hello?

-[Davina] Marion?

-Yes.

Hi, it's Davina.

Oh, hello, Davina.

Marion, I wanted to call you with some news.

Yes.

Karen and Andrew have been found, and they'd love to meet you.

I know.

Oh, that's wonderful news.

Karen has said that it's meant an enormous amount to her that you wanted to find them.

Yes.

She was always rather worried that she and Andrew weren't wanted.

-No.

Never.

-And I think you looking for them has meant that they know that they were.

-Oh, it's fantastic news.

-Yeah.

-How do you feel about maybe meeting up?

-Oh, I'd love to, love to.

They're gonna be absolutely thrilled.

I just wanted to let you know as soon as we knew.

I'm really happy for you, Marion.

Oh, thank you.

They've found the twins!

You all right?

[laughing] Come here.

Come here.

They're excited to see you, aren't they?

-Yes.

-Oh, it's lovely.

All your babies back together.

-You're shaking.

-I know.

[Davina] Today, Marion has come to Devon with Pete, her husband of 11 years, to reunite with her twins.

As Andrew wants to meet away from the cameras, Marion's firstly going to meet Karen.

I might tell her that I love her and hold her in my arms again.

I'm just hoping that she can be my daughter again.

You enjoy yourself today.

-Ooh.

-You okay?

-Yeah.

-I'll see you later.

-Mm, love you.

-I love you too.

Mother and daughter are meeting at the Kingston Estate close to where they last lived together when Karen was a baby.

[Karen] I'm nervous, but excited at the same time.

Just being able to put closure and know we've got, you know, a chance to have a future together, that's... that's just all I want, really, yeah.

Hello.

-Hi.

-It's all right, don't worry.

It's all fine.

It's all fine.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Don't worry.

Right, we'll have a seat.

Don't cry.

Oh, I just can't believe it.

It's so... -I know, it's been a long time.

-Yeah.

I love you to bits.

I didn't think I would cry, I didn't wanna cry.

[Marion laughs] -They're happy tears.

-Oh, definitely.

-Happy.

-Definitely.

You know, we just want to be a family.

Have mum in our life.

But I regret a lot of what happened, but you were always loved, always loved, both of you.

Oh, darling.

-Sorry.

-I love you to bits.

It's not going away this time.

God, I wanted this so much.

[Karen] I feel like a weight has been lifted.

We were wanted, and I think that's a big deal.

I just can't believe I'm holding your hands.

I know.

I'm not gonna let you go.

[both laughing] [Marion] She's my daughter.

That's not gone.

The bond is there.

[Karen] I think just to be able to be mum and daughter and enjoy the time we have together.

Moving forward, yeah.

No, it's great.

Really excited.

[Marion] I just love her to bits, I really do.

I'm very proud of her.

Very proud of her.

[indistinct chatter] [Spanish guitar playing] Just over a year ago, we reunited Christina Barlow with her birth parents in Colombia.

So busy everywhere.

Today, she's travelled to the capital city of Bogotá to see them again and celebrate her birthday with them for the first time.

All the buildings are really colorful.

Some of them don't look particularly sturdy.

And she's not just planning to visit her parents.

I have two brothers and a sister.

And they're all older than me.

Growing up, my siblings were not told about me, and it was something that my birth parents felt quite ashamed about.

I would really like to have a friendship with my siblings.

I want them to be as much of a part of my life as I can make them.

[barking] The family have arranged to meet at Christina's sister's house on the outskirts of the capital.

[Christina] I feel actually quite worried.

I just hope that they will like me and, and want to know me as much as I want to know them.

[father speaking Spanish] One of Christina's brothers was unable to get time off work, but her sister Luz Marina and eldest brother Carlos are here to greet her.

[Carlos] As Christina's Spanish is still quite basic, the translator is here to help with the initial meeting.

Um, could you please say that I would like to...

I wanted to give them some gifts to show them how much I love them.

[Christina] Mama.

[speaking Spanish] [Christina] And, um, it can open.

[speaking Spanish] [Encarnacion] -Gracias.

-De nada.

This gift is for you, Papa.

De nada.

It's a traditional English hat called a flat cap.

[father] [Christina] De nada.

[laughter, indistinct chatter] You always did.

But, yeah, more.

Gracias.

[speaking Spanish] [gasps] [sister] "Super sister."

-I love you, sister.

-[Christina] I love you too.

Of course Christina has a memento of her own to treasure.

I love this present very much.

Always reminds me of you.

[father] This trip is an opportunity for Christina to experience her family's daily life.

[speaking Spanish] [Christina] My siblings left school at 12 and they had to start working to fund themselves and the family, so they could, you know, keep eating.

Carlos and Marina funded themselves through secondary education when they were in their early twenties.

But it does make me feel guilty to see that my family don't have as much as I do.

[speaking Spanish] My life could have been so different.

It just makes me feel humble that I was lucky enough to have more opportunity.

[speaking Spanish] Why me?

Like... what gave me the right, really?

On the eve of her birthday, Christina's parents have asked her to accompany them to the local church.

[Christina] The church is such a big part of their culture.

They actually said, "We prayed for a miracle and that miracle was that our daughter would, would find us," and I found them.

Gracias, Señor.

[speaking Spanish] Muchas gracias.

Sí.

[bell clanging] It's the morning of Christina's birthday.

She and Encarnacion are marking it by returning to the orphanage where her life began 29 years ago.

[Christina] The 1st of February has always been a sad day for my birth mother.

I am sure she never imagined that she would step foot in that place again, let alone with, with her daughter that she said goodbye to there.

So it's such a poignant moment that we can share that together.

Ooh!

Hello.

Oh, nice to see you again.

And you too.

Thank you for having me here.

Barbara Escobar, the director of the orphanage, has agreed to show them around.

Christina, so this is the room where we have our children between 4 and 5 years old.

This is where they sleep at night.

[Christina] I love the teddy bears.

[Barbara] We want our children to feel that this is their home.

[speaking Spanish] Are you happy?

Happy baby?

Since it opened in 1942, the orphanage called "La Casa de La Madre y el Niño," Home of the Mother and Child, has arranged 8,000 successful adoptions.

We're so lucky, huh?

We're so lucky to have you.

[Christina] It's a wonderful, wonderful place where people's lives are turned around and made better.

La Casa gave my birth mother just a little bit of hope and a ray of light in an otherwise really dark time.

She looked around and thought, "My baby will be, will be safe and given a, a good home," and she was right.

I ended up getting a wonderful family.

[Barbara] Okay, Christina.

I'm going to show you your book.

-There you are.

-[Christina] My mum and dad, yeah.

[Barbara] Would you like to keep that?

Of course, La Casa was a special place for both of Christina's mothers.

Christina's adoptive mother, Jane, was so thankful for her baby girl that she kept in touch with the orphanage throughout her life, sending news of Christina as she grew up.

[Christina] It was my dream to be able to introduce you to my mum.

'Cause I know she wanted to say thank you for giving her the gift of a child.

But obviously as she's died, this feels like the closest thing we can get to you meeting.

I felt a lot of emotion, a lot of... almost relief, I think, that my birth mother could come back to this place and rewrite a bad time into a good time.

Now we can be happy and we can make memories together.

-[dog barking] -[Spanish guitar playing] [bell clanging] With the ghost of birthdays past laid to rest, Christina's birth family are gathering at a local restaurant to show her how to celebrate Colombian style.

[band playing] [Christina] It's amazing to be part of my new huge family on my birthday.

I feel loved and I feel welcomed, completely and utterly, and I just feel like I'm part of them, which is great because I am.

[father] [Carlos] [band playing "Happy Birthday"] [man shouting in Spanish] [singing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish] [Christina] This trip has been amazing.

[applause] Even though there is a language barrier, we're kind of getting by, and it doesn't matter because we love each other and that's the most important thing.

Estoy muy feliz.

Very happy.

[peaceful music playing]