[Davina] For thousands of people across Britain, someone is missing from their lives.

[woman] Forty years has gone by.

I'm hoping somewhere he's thinking of us.

[man] An unwanted baby that was thrown away.

You think that all the way through your life, this is why you're adopted.

[woman] Why did he not come back?

Even if he doesn't want to know me, I need to know why.

[Davina] All too often the years of searching lead nowhere.

Well, this is the series that steps in to help, offering a last chance to people desperate to find long lost family.

Have you found him!?

Oh!

Oh, Mum, that's amazing!

-He lives in Cape Town.

-No way.

So we both ended up in South Africa.

We've been looking for so many years.

Don't cry, baby.

Our searches have uncovered family secrets and taken us all over the world, finding people that no one else has been able to trace.

The most important thing for her is to know that she hasn't been forgotten.

I look in the mirror and I was like, who are you?

And now I can see.

[Davina] And finally, answering questions that have haunted entire lives.

I've found her and I'm just so, so, so happy!

This week, two stories of babies given up by their families.

A man who's spent over a decade searching for his mother.

He's very worried about being rejected for a second time.

"She didn't want me then, will she want to see me again?"

And a woman who's spent her entire life needing to make amends.

I'd like to try and make her understand why I had to do what I did.

And hoping that she will forgive me.

[dramatic music playing] [Davina] Our first search brings us to Edinburgh and a man who's spent most of his life wondering why his mother gave him up for adoption over 43 years ago.

[man] 1, 2... That's better, Cameron!

Much better!

Real sacking, real movement.

If you sidestep him and then stop moving your legs, he'll go nowhere.

[Davina] Forty-four-year-old Mark Appleson, an ex-professional rugby player, and now a coach at the elite Edinburgh Academy, has been sporty since he was a boy.

I was one of those annoying kids at school who play tennis, play squash, play golf, play rugby, play cricket, play athletics.

All these things.

They all came to me very, very easily.

But growing up, his sporting ability was just another reminder to Mark that he was nothing like the rest of his family and that he was adopted.

[Mark] They're not naturally athletic.

You know, I was different in so many ways to my brothers and sisters.

They're very, very olive skinned and very, very dark hair.

The very fact that I was physically so different made me stand out like a sore thumb at times.

I obviously had the quips when we went to the beach or when we went out as a family, that, "What a lovely family.

Mark, the little blond one, he must have been the milk man's."

The very fact that I was physically so different from my adopted family does make you feel isolated for sure.

You kind of think that all the way through your life.

[contemplative music playing] [Davina] Even as a boy, these feelings of isolation drove Mark to ask questions about his origins.

[Mark] Around about 14, 15, that sort of time, was when I first started kind of really getting interested in wanting to find out a little bit more, and that's when I started asking my mum.

But she genuinely had very limited knowledge and limited information to be able to give me.

She knew my name, that I was called Mark already, initially, and I was initially called Mark White.

She knew where I was born, that I'd actually spent some time with my birth family.

But despite being given a glimpse into his past, Mark didn't feel ready to probe any further.

[Mark] I did nothing, literally nothing.

A fear of rejection would be the thing that really kind of stopped me doing anything at all.

-[woman] Are you hungry?

-Yeah.

-What would you like?

-Pasta.

Good 'un.

[Davina] It was only with the birth of his first child 14 years ago that Mark finally plucked up the courage to start uncovering the truth about his past.

[Mark] Having Ben, my older son, was the catalyst for me wanting to find out more about my entire family history.

He applied to see his adoption file in the hope that it would finally be able to answer the questions that had troubled him all his life.

[Mark] I mean there was just, there was too much to comprehend, it really was.

From, from literally having nothing, or virtually nothing, to having, you know, more than I can imagine.

There in black and white for the first time was his birth mother's name: Fabia Charlotte White.

"Fabia was described as a quiet, thoughtful girl, not at all the dashing type.

Does not wear makeup, rather a sad expression, pale complexion and a slim build."

Mark discovered that Fabia grew up in Islington in the 1960s, then one of the poorest parts of London.

She was just 18 when he was born, and already had another son, Simon, from a previous relationship.

The file hinted at her emotional state at the time.

"The decision concerning the adoption was not an easy one for Fabia.

She cared deeply for Mark but felt his future would be better served by having a normal family life."

Maybe it's just me looking at words on a page and kind of reading something into them, but... there was evidence of kind of affection there, and we can't imagine the torture that Fabia would have been going through.

It must have been incredibly hard for her.

But all of Mark's attempts to find his birth mother have failed.

Apart from the adoption file, there are no records of a Fabia Charlotte White ever having existed.

The only tangible part of Fabia's past is the address for her in Islington.

[Mark] That desire of wanting to know more and wanting to be part of another family, it's not going to go away.

It's going to nag at me and kind of eat at me until something happens.

When we started searching, we came to the same dead end as Mark.

There's no record of a Fabia Charlotte White ever existing in this country.

But what we did have going for us was the unusual combination of the names Fabia and Charlotte.

We knew from the adoption file that Fabia's mother had been married a number of times.

Perhaps White was a stepfather's name, possibly a red herring.

So, we checked the records for any Fabia Charlottes who would have been 18 at the time of Mark's birth.

We found one, a Fabia Charlotte Wolfers born in London in 1949.

Could this be Mark's birth mother?

Now we had a likely name, we could track her.

We found a marriage to a Peter Stone in Islington in 1975 and then a second marriage to an Anthony Barr in 1983.

[Nicky] But when we searched for Fabia Barr, we could find no record of her living or dead.

Maybe she'd moved abroad.

We then turned to social network sites and eventually found a Fabia Barr living in France of about the right age.

And crucially, she had a son called Simon, the same name as the son mentioned in Mark's adoption file.

[GPS] Go left on the roundabout, second exit.

[Nicky] We contacted her, and she confirmed that she was Mark's birth mother.

Of course when I searched for my mother, I was hoping that this would be a joyous thing for her, it would be a fantastic thing for her as well.

She is the woman who carried you and gave birth to you.

You know, what does that mean all these years later?

Fabia agreed to meet me at her house in Arçais in rural France, where she now lives with her partner Alain.

-Fabia.

-Hello.

-Hi.

Nicky.

-Hello.

-Really nice to meet you.

-Yeah, me too.

Come in.

Thanks.

-Ahh.

-[Fabia laughs] So, so take me back to... Islington, wasn't it?

-Yep.

-In the '60s.

-You already had a son.

-Yep.

"Out of wedlock," as they used to say, that phrase.

And then along came Mark.

What kind of life were you living?

I was getting married, to Mark's father, we were getting married.

And I arrived one Sunday morning and I found him in bed with, uh... You-- You found him in bed with someone else.

-My goodness.

-Exactly.

And I, um, I was 18, and I couldn't cope with that.

I never spoke to him again.

I just felt... -That was it.

-Yeah.

Later I discovered I was pregnant, and my mum said, "Who's gonna take you on with two children?

If you decide to have this baby and go to the end, you'll have to have him adopted because we can't... you can't bring him up."

-How long was he with you for?

-Six months.

-He was with you for six months.

-Yep.

-Yep.

-What was he like?

He was lovely.

[laughs] Did your mother not change her tune when she saw this beautiful little baby?

No, she just told me, "When Mark goes, everything goes with him."

So you had no photo of your baby?

-No.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

-Nothing?

Nothing.

No.

No.

I remember he cried when he went.

And I just sat on the doorstep for hours and hours and hours.

"You mustn't talk about him anymore, he's gone.

He doesn't exist anymore.

You just get on with your life."

As long as I didn't talk about it... -Yeah.

-...I could think about him as much as I wanted to.

For me he was always there.

And then it must have been a year later, Peter and I got married, I told him about Mark.

And he just said, "Well, we're going to go and get him."

And so we went to the social worker at the hospital, who said, "No, you can't do that.

You can't decide to have a child adopted and then a year later decide to want him back."

I felt like he'd been taken twice.

It felt like exactly the same feeling.

Well, Mark, um... he completely understands the difficulties and everything.

You're an incredibly important thing to him.

[sniffles] That's nice.

I don't know why, but... Because you're his mother, because you gave birth to him.

And he was with you for a long time.

He's always thought about you, he's always wondered.

That's your son.

[Fabia] He's got a lovely face and a lovely smile and... Gosh.

It's like looking at a complete stranger but looking at someone that I've known all my life.

-That's it, isn't it?

-Yep.

Yep.

If we were to find you, he wanted you to have this letter.

"Dear Fabia, this has not been an easy letter to write.

The emotions are truly overwhelming and it is hard to contain my excitement at the possibility of finally meeting the person who gave me life.

Hopefully it's like putting the pieces back together.

And until then I remain sincerely yours, Mark."

It's wonderful.

[sniffles] It's... really wonderful.

I can't believe it's going to happen.

I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be a dream.

-It's real.

-It's real.

-Do you want it to happen soon?

-I do.

I do.

[contemplative music playing] [Davina] Before I tell Mark the amazing news that we've found his mother... our second story comes from the Cotswold village of Lechlade and another mother who had to give up her child for adoption after taking care of her for 18 months.

Stella Stanley lives a peaceful life in the midst of the English countryside, but for 50 years, she has carried the guilt of what happened to her daughter Maxine.

Obviously, she was my life.

When she was born up until she went from me.

For Stella's two other daughters, Clare and Alison, the importance of finding Maxine for their mother has become all consuming.

[Alison] It wouldn't have been an easy decision for Mum because she is just so full of love.

I think Mum would like the chance to explain to Maxine why she had to do it.

Stella gave birth to Maxine in 1960 in Middlesex on the edge of London.

[Stella] I used to walk all along here, Clare, with the pram to push Maxine to the nursery.

This is the first time Stella has taken daughter Clare back to where the story began.

-Is that the house there?

-Yeah.

This was where Stella grew up and as a teenager met a friend of her brothers called John.

He was my first serious love.

I still love him today.

I mean, he was such a lovely man.

He really was.

After going out together for three years, 18-year-old Stella discovered she was pregnant with Maxine.

But John felt unable to support them, as he suffered from muscular dystrophy, a rare condition that can lead to severe disability and an early death.

Even at this stage, his physical condition was worsening.

Stella made the decision to try and bring up Maxine alone.

You know she used to fall over, and I used to hold her and bathe her knee or whatever she had done.

Her little cuddle was when the arms always went round the neck.

And you just, there's no feeling like it.

There isn't.

She was my life.

But Stella wasn't prepared for how tough being a single mother in the early 1960s would be.

Just 18 months later she would be faced with the hardest decision of her life.

Fifty years ago, Stella Stanley was a young single mother struggling to raise her daughter Maxine on her own.

Like thousands of women in her position in the early '60s, life for Stella was tough.

[narrator] For many unmarried mothers, the problems most difficult to bear begin after the baby is born.

[Stella] There was no help anywhere.

There was no organization that could talk to you.

No, I just had to grin and bear it.

[Davina] Even though state benefits did exist, the stigma of being a single mother meant that they were rarely collected.

[narrator] An unmarried mother is entitled to the same maternity benefit from the state as a married mother who pays national insurance.

This can never be enough to support herself and the baby.

Inevitably she must go out to work.

[Davina] To make ends meet, Stella was forced to take on two jobs almost as soon as Maxine was born.

Then to make matters worse, Stella's own mother became ill, which meant that she also had to look after her father and two younger brothers.

After 18 months, Stella was close to mental and physical collapse.

[Stella] I was just wearing myself out.

I was just so tired all the time.

I went to see my GP.

He suggested, as much as I loved her, would it not be fairer to have her adopted?

You keep thinking, "Am I doing the right thing?"

And it was for her sake really.

She would get all the things that she needed in life.

Because I couldn't afford to do that anyway.

You've got to think of the child's future.

[Davina] Reluctantly, Stella made the toughest decision of her life and agreed to have Maxine adopted.

On their last day together, she took Maxine to nursery as usual.

She was standing at the window with her little arm waving and... as I walked up the path to go out of the gate, I couldn't look back.

I didn't want to let her see me crying.

After being Maxine's mum for 18 months, this was the last time Stella ever saw her daughter.

I walked to work, sat down at my machine that I used to work on and just cried and cried.

Stella went on to marry and have her two other daughters.

But the need to find out what happened to Maxine has never left her.

I'd like to try and make her understand why I had to do what I did and hoping that she will forgive me.

[Nicky] Back in the 1960s, most children were adopted as babies and would have been given new names.

The fact that Maxine was 18 months old when she was adopted makes this case unusual.

And it means that her parents probably kept the name Maxine.

But what we needed was her new surname.

But because of the confidentiality surrounding an adopted person's new identity, we had to work with a specialist intermediary who is legally allowed to access their records.

After three months, we received the news we'd been hoping for.

Stella's daughter had been traced and had agreed to meet me.

Still called Maxine, she lives in Bishop Stortford in Hertfordshire.

Now a mother of three, she's been a teacher for over 30 years and is head of English at a local secondary school.

[Nicky] This means so much to Stella.

She has carried this with her for more than 50 years.

But what does it mean to Maxine?

Is it more to Maxine than just curiosity, just wanting to know what the woman who gave birth to you looks like?

I wonder, does Maxine have the same yearning?

[doorbell rings] -Hello.

-Maxine.

-Hi, how are you?

-Very well.

Thank you very much for having me.

-You're very welcome.

-You lead the way.

How was it when you heard the news?

It was really very, very spooky.

I had a friend round, and we must have sat here for a good couple of hours, just talking about the adoption, and she asked me what I had done to try and find my birth mother and where I'd drawn blanks.

And she said, "You really should go for it.

You sound ready for it."

And so next morning came downstairs, sifted through the post, and there was this letter.

[laughs] It was just too, too surreal.

-You had been trying for a few years.

-I've been trying.

When my adopted father died, 15, 16 years ago, that's when I started trying to do the searches.

What do you know about your adoption?

I've always known, right from a little girl, that I was adopted and that I was a bit older than most children who are adopted.

Most children are adopted at birth.

What actually happened is that she looked after you and was with you and cared for you and was your mother for 18 months.

And then her mother was ill.

Uh, she had to look after her father.

And she had to work as well.

Just all got too much for her.

She just couldn't cope.

And she was edging towards a breakdown.

But she remembers the last time that she took you to nursery was just the most painful day of her life, just walking away as you waved to her.

It's kind of what I always ho... kind of what I always hoped would be the case.

Because when I've watched my own children, my own daughters and my granddaughter grow up, I've often looked and thought, how can somebody give somebody away?

[sniffles] And then I suppose with all my failed attempts, I thought it was that she didn't want to be found.

Oh, she wants to be found.

It's heartbreaking.

Absolutely heartbreaking.

That's your mother.

[gasps] [Stella] Oh, my God!

Oh, my goodness me.

It's like looking in a mirror.

She's written you a letter as well, if we were to find you.

Would you share it with us?

Yes.

"Dear Maxine.

This letter is going to be very difficult to write.

How can I write about 50 years on paper?

Every year on April 2 I shed tears as it's your birthday, wondering how you were celebrating your special day.

There is so much to say but would rather keep it until we eventually meet.

Love, Stella."

Thank you so much.

[Davina] I'm on my way to tell Stella that we've found Maxine.

I mean, just the idea of giving up a toddler that you've mothered and loved for 18 months is too much to bear, and, you know, I just can't imagine what Stella must have gone through over the past 50 years.

I just really hope that with this news... maybe that could come to an end and that she and Maxine can rekindle that mother-daughter bond and love that they once had.

[peaceful music playing] [dog barking] -Hi!

Hello.

-Hi, Stella, how are you?

-I'm fine.

Yes.

-Hello.

-Would you like a cup of tea?

-Oh, I'd love one, please.

[Stella] Okay.

Obviously it was a task, you know, that you gave us.

Yes.

They found your daughter.

No!

No!

I can't believe it.

And does she want to see me?

Does she?

Oh!

She is so happy that we got in touch.

-Really?

-She's been looking for you for years.

She hasn't.

Oh, God!

Oh, gosh.

Oh!

Oh, thank you so much.

Oh, God, I don't know what to say.

You don't have to say anything.

Did you have lots of trouble finding her?

It was tough, but she's really well.

-Is she?

-Yes.

She's had a wonderful life.

-Has she?

-And she wanted you to know that.

Oh, gosh, that's so wonderful.

I really didn't think you'd find her.

Really didn't.

Um, would you like to see a photo?

Oh, please!

Yes, please.

Oh!

Isn't she lovely?

[Davina] She's absolutely beautiful, and look at her eyes.

[Stella] Aren't they blue?

Oh!

Bless her.

What do I say to her?

You know, I don't think...

I think it will all just happen.

You think so?

[Stella] They've finally found her.

Oh, wow!

They finally found her.

And I've got a photograph.

-[laughing] -There's your sister.

-Oh, Mum.

-Yeah.

[Davina] Ex-professional rugby player Mark Appleson has always known he was adopted, but apart from his adoption file, he's been unable to find an y record of his birth mother, Fabia, ever having existed.

After a complicated search, we finally tracked her down living in rural France.

[Davina] For nearly 15 years, Mark has been searching for his birth mother, a sense of identity and a family history that he can pass down to his children.

I'm on my way to tell him that, with the discovery of his mother, all of those things are now his.

[doorbell rings] -Hi.

-Hello.

Hi.

-How are you?

-Very well, thanks.

How are you?

-Good, thank you.

-Good.

Come in.

Yeah.

Thank you.

What was it that prompted your search for your birth mother?

It's difficult to explain, you know.

You just...

I've always kind of felt lost almost.

And I know that I've got someone out there who had to make a tremendously, tremendously hard decision to kind of give me up, so... And, you know, that's really the reason behind it, so...

It's such a massive step to take, isn't it?

And one doesn't want to hope for fear of disappointment.

Yeah, sure.

But you're not going to be disappointed, because we've found your mother.

No.

Bloody hell.

Sorry, I can't believe that.

I was...

I was so ready for, this is not going to happen, and just ready to give it up and-- Yeah, because it's frightening to hope, isn't it?

It's too frightening to hope.

I can't tell you.

You know, when you, even though you shouldn't feel, you feel rejected and not loved and not wanted.

She did come back for you about a year after she'd given you up for adoption.

-Yeah.

-But obviously you'd been adopted and she couldn't...

So, she was-- she loves you so much.

Oh, God.

What's she like?

What does she look like?

She's living in France.

Would you like to see a picture?

I'd love to see a picture.

I can't believe it.

Oh, wow.

God.

[exhales sharply] I've got a letter as well if you'd like.

Okay.

Yeah, I'd love to.

Thank you.

"Dear Mark.

I have to say that it was a shock when I first heard that you'd been looking for me.

So many emotions streamed through me one after another, but the strongest was joy.

'Joy,' even that is too small a word to really describe the full depth of emotion I experienced."

Sorry.

"I often think about you, especially on your birthday, wondering what you are doing, whether you are happy.

Has life been good for you?

Thank you so much for the best Christmas present ever and the chance of getting to know you."

You kind of think, "Has she ever thought about me?"

Forty-three years is a long time, and... it's just amazing to know that she has.

Never forgotten.

Oh!

What's happened?

What's happened?

-They've found her.

-Oh, my goodness.

Oh, my goodness.

-You okay?

-Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.

Mark's so eloquent about what this means to him.

I really believe now that his fear of rejection will finally be able to be put to rest when he meets his mum.

[Davina] This morning, after 43 years apart, Mark will finally meet his mother Fabia.

[Mark] Have you got your stuff?

-Yeah.

She'll be absolutely fine.

-Thank you.

-All right?

-Have a nice day.

-I'll give you a call.

-Okay, okay.

-Come on, then.

-[child] Bye, Dad.

-[Mark] See you later.

-[wife] Bye.

[Davina] Fabia has flown in from France to meet her son.

Mark wants to meet Fabia in the restaurant at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

[Davina] I bet you didn't think this day was gonna come, did you?

[Mark] No, absolutely not.

I mean, after such a kinda long time, no.

What do you think you're going to get from today?

I'm just hoping that, you know, we bond, which again I've been very positive about this.

I'm sure we will, and that we can... you know, we have, you know, the start of something that can build and build and will eventually develop into a relationship where it should be.

We're here.

So, Mark, I'm actually not going to take you any further.

I'm going to say goodbye to you here.

-Okay.

-But, um... just good luck.

Thank you.

Thanks, Davina.

Thank you.

Okay.

Here we go.

[Fabia] I really don't know what I'm going to say.

-I'm so scared.

-Scared?

[gasps] So scared.

-What if he doesn't like me?

-He's gonna love you.

-[Fabia] I don't know if I can go.

-[Nicky] You can.

This is what you've waited for, this is what he's waited for.

And you so deserve this.

You do.

-See you later.

-[Fabia gasps] I'm with you, I'm with you.

Right behind me.

I'm right here, and I'll see you.

[peaceful music playing] [Fabia sobbing] Oh, my word.

Hello.

Come and sit down.

[sighs, sniffles] [Mark] So it's real.

-[Fabia] This is so hard.

-Yeah.

-[Fabia] I apologize.

-Don't you apologize for anything, don't.

Don't be silly.

Don't be silly.

That's not-- that's absolutely not.

You have nothing to apologize about.

-Okay?

Nothing at all.

-Are you happy?

-Have you been happy?

-I'm happy now.

-Have you been happy?

-Yeah, I've been, absolutely, yeah.

-I made the right decision?

-You made the right decision for you, absolutely, you know?

This makes up for everything, twenty-fold, honestly.

-Good.

I'm so sorry.

-Yes, it does.

No, don't say sorry.

You don't need to say sorry.

Honestly, you don't.

It's not about the past for me.

You know, I absolutely guarantee that it really isn't.

I'm hoping we can kind of find a friendship.

[Fabia] As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was part of me, and when he was in my arms, he belongs there.

[Mark] Just pure joy, you know, real happiness, and I'm sure she felt the same with me, and it was just fantastic, it really was.

I mean, it was almost like regressing to a child, to a little baby, and getting that first hug from your mum.

And it was amazing, absolutely amazing.

I don't feel guilty.

I don't feel bad about myself.

I don't feel that I'm the bad person I thought I was.

And it's just going to be all happiness from now on.

[Davina] Fifty years ago, Stella Stanley gave up her daughter Maxine for adoption after caring for her for 18 months.

Today they will be reunited.

Stella will meet Maxine in Hertfordshire a hundred miles from her Cotswold home.

Her other daughters, Alison and Clare, will be meeting their sister for the first time.

Maxine wants to meet her mother at Down Hall, a favorite local landmark close to where she lives.

-Hi!

-Hello!

-How are you doing?

-Fine, thank you.

See you later.

Yeah.

Thank you.

-You'll be fine.

-I know I will.

-Okay.

-Well, take care, sweetheart.

All the best, you'll be wonderful.

I'll see you later.

-Good morning.

-Hi.

It's a beautiful day.

-It is.

A bit nervous.

Sure it'll be fine.

-It's going to be fantastic.

[Nicky] I do keep thinking about the long, long time that you were together, 18 months, and what you might remember, what might, you know, subconsciously be in there.

I'm... a great believer that things can be locked away subconsciously for years and years and years that you never... remember until something triggers them off, and, I don't know, maybe she... maybe her voice will trigger something in me.

Or maybe looking in her eyes that I'll remember looking at them when I was a toddler.

[Stella] I never ever dreamt this day would come.

And I suppose now, you know, that painful memory of not turning round at the nursery... -Yeah.

-...you can put that to one side now... -Yeah, yeah.

-...and form some lovely new memories.

And all the guilt I felt for the last 50 years.

Oh!

Thank you so much.

-[Davina] Good luck.

-Thank you.

[Nicky] Okay.

-[exhales sharply] Yep.

-You all right?

Yeah.

-[Nicky] All right?

-Okay.

[Nicky] Okay.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

[Stella gasps] Hello, darling!

Oh, Maxine!

[sobbing] [kisses] Oh!

You know what, you look like your dad.

-Do I?

-Yeah.

Oh, he was lovely.

I thought I looked like you.

Well, you wouldn't want that.

[laughing] Oh, bless you!

The last time I cuddled you, you were 18 months old.

Oh!

You're so lovely!

Do you want a tissue?

-Oh, gosh... -Have a seat.

[Maxine] It's so... so wonderful.

-Oh!

-'Cause I've never heard anybody to say, "Gosh, you look like them."

Oh, bless you.

So, what's my dad?

Which bits are my dad?

-Your eyes.

-Really?

Mm-hmm.

John has the most beautiful blue eyes you could imagine.

He was a lovely man.

You would have loved him.

And I'm sure he would have loved you.

So relieved that I was born... by two people who loved me.

-Oh, yes.

-Rather than it being something horrible.

Oh, no, no, we both loved you.

Oh, no, you were born out of love.

But I just wish or hope that he's looking down.

But there's one thing, Maxine, that I hope you'll forgive me, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me, because I felt so guilty for 50 years.

Especially on your birthday.

It must have been so hard.

It was hard.

But you needed so much.

And I wasn't in a position to give you everything you should have had.

I understand.

And I was always told... that it was done for the right reasons and... Yeah.

Now, give us another hug.

Give us another hug.

[Stella] When I hugged her, I could feel that she was mine, and... oh, she's so lovely.

[Maxine] Just looking into her eyes...

I knew, I knew that she was my mum.

[Stella] Okay.

-[Maxine gasps] -[Stella] It's your two sisters.

-[Maxine] Oh, my God!

-Hello.

[Maxine gasping, laughing] [Clare] She looked ten years younger, didn't she?

She just lifted.

Everything... She just looked like the weight of the world had just been taken off her shoulders.

[Stella] Group hug!

[laughs] It's wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, golly.

[Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family"...

The search for a brother who mysteriously disappeared over 40 years ago.

[woman] Nobody ever mentioned him, nobody ever spoke about him, spoke about the secret.

I mean, to me it was just, "Okay, he's gone."

And a woman who has always regretted the decision she took as a teenage mum.

[woman] If you do ever find her, tell her how much I loved her.

And I so didn't want to part with her.

[contemplative music playing]