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

[woman] I have no recollection of my mum at all.

Not a smell, not a memory.

Nothing.

[man] I feel something's missing.

I would love to get rid of the loneliness that I do feel.

[woman] I've carried this secret for years and years and years.

All my life I've carried that shame.

Finding someone when the trail has gone cold can feel like an impossible task, but that is where we step in.

[Nicky] Your birth mother.

Offering a last chance to people desperate for help.

-So do they want to meet us?

-They really do.

"I last saw you as two boys, now you're both grown men.

To see you both again, would be like a dream come true."

With no idea where our searches will lead, we've travelled the world hoping to solve some of our toughest cases yet.

-We found you at last.

-[man] Yeah.

Your letter was intercepted, and she never received it.

[sighs] I used to say a little prayer and hope the Lord would keep him safe because I knew I couldn't.

[Davina] And finally, unravelling mysteries that have overshadowed entire lives.

It's just so untrue that you were that little tiny baby and you're so lovely.

This week two stories of adoption that began more than 40 years ago.

A mother with a gift for her daughter she's waited a lifetime to give.

I hoped and pray that she's had the life that I wanted her to have.

And a son who needs to know he was wanted.

What I'd love to hear is that she didn't want to give me away but she felt as though she had no choice.

[dramatic music playing] [contemplative music playing] Our first search comes from Devon and a woman desperate to make amends for a decision she made over 40 years ago.

[woman] My mum's engagement ring...

The last words she said to me actually before she died was, um... if ever I found Kerry, I was to give it to her.

[Davina] Sixty-eight-year-old Sue Udy is searching for her daughter Kerry, who she gave up for adoption when she was ten days old.

[Sue] One day hopefully she'll wear it.

I hope so, I hope so.

The youngest of three children, Sue grew up in a North London suburb in the 1950s with her parents Frank and Mabel.

[Sue] I had a very strict Victorian type of father.

Everybody in the family had to abide by his rules.

It wasn't a happy time at all at home.

In her late teens, Sue fell in love with a corporal stationed at a nearby military base.

We hit it off straight away, just like wildfire really.

It was complete passion.

Within months of meeting him, she discovered he was living a double life.

[Sue] He told me that he was married.

He had three children, but he said that he was already separated and he was going to get a divorce, and that we had a life together.

But her father Frank made no secret of his disapproval.

[Sue] He called me a guttersnipe, I'll never forget that.

He disowned me basically.

There was no saying, "No, he's not a married man, he's separating."

All my clothes were packed up and I was sent away.

My boyfriend left his wife, he left his family, he said we were going to go away and make a life of our own.

Not to worry about parents and we'd be happy.

Basically we both ran away together.

[Davina] Sue and her boyfriend set up home in Bristol.

But everything changed when she discovered she was pregnant.

[Sue] When I told him, I knew by his face that he wasn't happy.

He did the same as what my father did, he packed all my stuff up and he told me then that he was going back to his wife and his family.

I can remember crying and begging him not to go and he dropped me outside a mother and baby home and I never, ever saw him again.

I had no family...

I had no job, no home.

I had no future.

I just knew that all the way through the pregnancy that there was no other option than to have the baby adopted.

[sniffles] There was no other way.

Abandoned by both her parents and the man she loved, Sue faced the ordeal of labor completely alone.

Because the baby was a breach delivery, they wanted to give me a caesarean section and they had to have permission from my next of kin.

They must have rung home to my parents and my father answered and he said, no, he wouldn't agree with it.

And he said, "If she's going to die, let her die," but she had to deliver it because... she may learn her lesson that way.

Sue survived the breach birth and stayed in hospital for ten days, looking after her baby daughter who she named Kerry.

[Sue] The day I actually had to leave her was the hardest thing that I've ever done in my life.

I remember having to dress her... and she looked perfect, absolutely perfect.

And I had to leave her in the cot and literally walk out on her and leave her there.

After giving up Kerry for adoption, Sue moved to Devon, where she married and went on to have another daughter.

She eventually made contact with her own mother and father once more.

[Sue] He never once apologized to me for what happened, never.

Kerry was never, ever, ever mentioned.

It was always a taboo subject.

It was only after her father's death that Sue and her mother were finally able to speak about Kerry.

She gave Sue her ring to pass on to her granddaughter, if she were ever found.

[Sue] My mum, because she wasn't supportive at the time, I think it was her way of saying "sorry," so...

I'd love to just find her, just to tell her how much she was loved, how much I wanted her, and to tell her that I'd never, ever forgotten her.

I'm thinking of her constantly, and the pain is there constantly.

It's there, it's part of you, it's... Sue has been looking for her daughter for more than 40 years, but it's hardly surprising she's never found a trace of her.

In almost all cases where a baby is adopted, they're given a new identity.

What we needed was Kerry's new name.

All right.

But because of the need to protect the identity of adopted children, the only way we could find this was by working with a specialist intermediary legally allowed to access records.

Eventually we were told that Kerry had been traced.

Now called Andrea, she lives with her husband and two sons, amazingly, just a few miles from where Sue gave birth to her in Bristol.

When she was contacted, she agreed to meet me to find out more about her birth mother.

There's no evidence that Andrea has actually searched for Sue.

So, I hope it's going to be good news when she finds out that her birth mother has been looking for her.

[doorbell rings] -Andrea, hi.

-Hello.

Hi.

-I'm Nicky.

-Hello, Nicky.

Thank you very much for seeing me.

-Pleasure, come on in.

-Thanks.

[Nicky] So how and when did you find out that you were adopted?

I've got two brothers and we're all adopted.

When we were babies, mum was always saying, you know, "You did have another mum, another lady had you, uh, but she has let me look after you."

So it was, you know, inbred into your head.

Well, it's so good that she made her a part of your life.

Did your mum tell you anything about your birth mum?

My mum knew things, but I never wanted to know anything.

I was happy and content in my family life.

So when you found out that your birth mother was searching for you, what was your initial reaction?

Complete shock.

I...

I had no... desire or... to look for her myself because I was so happy.

I never felt that there was a piece missing.

[Nicky] She's written you a letter if we were to find you.

[Andrea sighing] Oh!

"Kerry."

Does she know my name's Andrea?

She will do now, she'll know your name Andrea now.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

"My dearest Kerry, I have been trying to trace you for 44 years.

I do understand we would be total strangers and that I could never expect to take the place of your mum, but all I would like is a chance to see you.

I have so much to say to you and I would love to hear your voice..." Sorry.

[sniffles] "I've always loved you and I've longed to find you.

From your ever loving mother, Sue."

[Nicky] All right?

Yeah.

It does make me sad to think she's been looking for me for so long and wanting to know, and I really think I've been selfish.

Why?

Because I should have looked for her.

And I didn't.

And she's been so sad, all this time.

No, because you've been... -I know, I've been happy.

-Yeah.

She's going to be overjoyed.

Because her big question is, have you been happy?

-Did she do the right thing?

-She certainly did.

Did you have a wonderful family?

-And, you know, the answer to all those questions is yes.

-Yeah.

I think you'd better see a photograph of your birth mother.

[Andrea sighs] [Nicky] There you are.

Wow.

Oh.

It's my mum.

[contemplative music playing] -[doorbell rings] -[Davina] Later that evening, Andrea's adoptive mother, Christine, comes round to show her support.

How's it... been today?

Come on, I've got lots to tell you.

-Do you want to a see a picture?

-[Christine] Yes.

Are you sure?

Yes.

[Christine] That's a nice picture.

-I feel so excited now.

-Yeah, yeah.

-How about you, how do you feel?

-Of course I feel very, very happy.

Honestly.

Very, very happy.

I feel it's put something into your life that you were missing and didn't realize you were missing, I do.

It's true, actually.

[Andrea] And you're all right?

-Yeah?

-[Christine] Yes, of course.

[Christine sighs] -[Christine] I love you.

-[Andrea, crying] I love you too.

[seagulls calling] [Davina] Before we tell Sue that we have found her daughter... Our second search comes from the south coast of England and a man who has struggled to come to terms with the decision that his mother made when he was just a baby.

Fifty-four-year-old fire-fighter Alan Ross-Harper was given up for adoption by his mother when he was two months old.

He's spent most of his adult life hoping th at one day he would find her.

[Alan] I just hope that she would be proud of the way I've turned out, that she would want to be a part of my life, really.

[Davina] Alan now lives by the sea in Eastbourne, 60 miles from where he spent his childhood with his adoptive parents John and Gerda.

His younger sister Helen was also adopted.

[Alan] 'Cause Helen and I were chosen, my mum and my dad said we were special.

It was a very happy childhood.

Come on.

It wasn't until years later when he started his own family with his wife Sue that Alan began to question the decision made by his birth mother when she gave him up.

[Alan] When I first held my daughter, it sort of made you think, "Well, how could I give this baby away to somebody else when it meant so much to me?"

It's just this immediate overwhelming love and protection straight away, and I just thought to myself, my birth mother must have had that.

I mean, I can't believe that she didn't have that.

Sorry.

As his own family grew, so too did Alan's desire to find his birth mother, and he applied to see his adoption file.

[Alan] I sort of had this burst of masses of information.

It was overwhelming.

Suddenly I'd had a few answers.

Alan discovered that he was originally given the name Peter and that his birth mother was called Patricia Martin.

[Alan] That was the first time I found out how old she was.

It sort of made me sit back... "Blimey, she was only 16."

But the documents were to reveal far more than he'd expected.

They contained a report on the role his father had played in his adoption.

"The putative father is a Mr. Green, who is 23 years of age.

He says that they may get married in two years, but he does not want to be rushed into marriage.

Pat is a baby-faced girl, very giggly, and most of her decisions and ideas about the proposed adoption are his, and neither of them can see that this may well damage their future relationship."

She was so heavily influenced, she was so young, uh...

I just don't think she had any choice.

The file gave me so much information, but there was nothing really of what she thought and what she felt.

I remember thinking at the time, "I'm not going to be satisfied with that because now I really do want to meet her."

Alan began trawling the central London archives, searching for clues to Patricia's whereabouts.

[Alan] The first thing I tried to find was if my mother and father had got married.

I tried to find a marriage certificate.

I started from the year that I was born and I went to about five or six years.

But despite this extensive search, Alan could find no trace of his birth parents ever marrying.

[Alan] In a way, I hope they didn't get married because if they were still together, well, that would be massive really because there's a family unit which hasn't got me in it.

[Davina] Alan Ross-Harper was adopted as a baby.

Fifteen years ago he applied to see his adoption file in the hope that it would lead him to his birth mother.

But before Alan could take the search for his mother any further, he was hit by a tragic turn of events closer to home.

My wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

I had to put everything on the back burner.

I didn't do anything for the next eight or nine years because I had more important things to do, look after my own family.

Sadly she passed away in '07, and, um... it's been very difficult since she went.

I realized that when somebody that close to you goes... how important family is.

[Davina] Now six years on, with the support of his new partner and children, he's making one final attempt to find his birth mother.

I just, I just want my dad to be happy really and just to get what he's looking for.

[son] Any situations that we've ever had, he's always done everything he can to help us out, to finally actually do something for himself and get some happiness will be really nice to see.

[Alan] I feel now the time is right.

I need to know from her the truth.

Did she love me at the time or did she feel as though I was a mistake and I just had to be dealt with?

I just want to know her true feelings at the time and what she was going through.

For months we searched the country for Patricia.

But like Alan, we could find no trace of her living here.

Then we discovered something else.

Patricia had an older brother, William, who'd emigrated to New Zealand in 1998.

Maybe he could lead us to his sister.

At the time he moved, William would have been in his sixties, so it's unlikely he would have been going for work.

Our hunch was that he may have gone to join a relative, who might have been Patricia.

So we started searching land registry records.

Our search eventually led here, to the small city of Hamilton on New Zealand's North Island.

The records show that William Martin, Patricia's brother, was indeed sharing an address with a woman called Patricia.

It seems like our hunch had paid off and we'd found Alan's birth mother.

But then astonishingly, the land registry listed another name living at the address, Patricia's husband, Arthur David Green.

Alan's birth father.

When we contacted Patricia, she not only confirmed she was Alan's mother but that she was indeed married to his father, who's now known as Dave.

They moved to New Zealand shortly after Alan was adopted and went on to have another child, Jacky, Alan's sister.

When we take on these searches, we never know what we're going to find, but this is the first time in an adoption case where we've set out to find someone's mother and found out that the parents have stayed together after giving the child up.

Now Patricia has agreed to talk to me about her son, but as for Alan's father, I just don't know what to expect.

Up there?

-Hello.

-Hello.

-I'm Nicky.

-I'm Pat.

-Pat.

-Pat.

Pleased to meet you.

So pleased to meet you.

[Patricia] Hi.

Would you like to come in?

[Nicky] Well, we found you.

-[Patricia laughs] -New Zealand.

Yes.

I was so pleased because I've always known that he's going to look for me one day, and when that came, I was just over the moon.

What comes through from the adoption file, your voice isn't in there at all.

He just wanted to know if you cared about him or if you thought about him, if you did.

I've thought about him every day since I've had him.

-You've thought about him every day?

-Yep, I've always loved him.

I do regret giving him away, I do.

I feel very guilty about it.

-Alan has written you a letter.

-Oh, he hasn't, has he?

-Yes.

-Oh, my gosh, no.

Oh!

Oh, no, I can't.

[Nicky] Do you want me to read it to you?

"Dear Patricia, Mum, this is a letter for you to say that you must not feel or think that I bear any grudge or bad feelings towards you for the decision you made all those years ago.

I always thought when the time was right, I had to come and find you.

We have a lot of catching up to do.

Lots of love.

Alan."

[Patricia] Oh, it's wonderful.

I saw that word "mum" and that's what started me going.

I'll treasure that for the rest of my life.

Yeah, I will.

Let's talk about back then, when you were 16 years old, right?

Mm.

I had no confidence.

I just did as I was told.

You just hand your baby over and you just come out with nothing in your arms.

Why did I do that?

Why couldn't I stand up for myself and say, "No, I'm not going to do this"?

So who was influencing you most when it came to the... Dave.

Dave.

I have to be quite honest.

Dave made the decision about the adoption, if I'm honest.

My husband, from that day on, has never spoken about it.

In all these years.

Why do you think Dave has never spoken about it?

It's been a lot my fault because I don't like to bring the subject up.

Do you think there's a little part of you inside that resents that he made you make that decision?

Hmm.

I've had it all my life.

Yep.

I have to be honest, I've never forgiven him, and it does impact on your life, it does.

-Does he know that you've never forgiven him?

-No, I've never told him.

Hmm.

As I said, we've never talked about it.

But who knows what has been going on inside?

He does feel it, I know, but he can't express himself.

It's a long time worrying about something and keeping the secret all the time.

It's the secret, the secret.

It's out in the open now, and it's just such a relief.

[Davina] Later that afternoon, the family starts talking about Alan for the first time in 50 years.

[Patricia] Ready?

He's a fireman, Jacky.

Oh...

He looks like dad.

[Dave] It's unbelievable.

I'm so glad he's done this, that he's tracked us down.

-[Patricia] All right?

-Yeah.

[Dave] We've never really talked about it.

I knew it would be hard so I just kept quiet.

It would bring back memories which I didn't want to be brought up again.

You think, oh, we shouldn't have done that, but we did it, or, yeah, I did it.

I'm glad he's found us.

I would like to say I'm sorry that, uh... that he's been put through this...

Excuse me.

I hope he can forgive us, forgive me, for doing it.

[Davina] Forty-seven years ago, cast out of home and abandoned by her boyfriend, Sue Udy was forced to give up her baby daughter for adoption.

She has been hoping ever since that one day she would find her again.

I'm on my way to tell her that her lifelong search is finally over.

Even though Sue knows that giving up her daughter for adoption was the only decision that she could make at the time, she's been living with the pain and torment from that decision ever since.

But Andrea has had the upbringing that Sue had always wished for, and I'm hoping that knowing that, Sue can find some peace.

-Hi, Sue.

-[Sue] Hi, Davina.

Come on in.

Pleased to meet you.

-[Davina] You all right?

-Yeah, fine, thank you.

-Come on through.

-Thank you.

I just wanted to ask you what it would mean to you to find Kerry.

Well, it would mean the world.

I mean, we've been trying to locate her ever since I've been married to Mick.

I mean, we've been everywhere, looking and hunting.

I carry a photo around with me.

-Show me?

-I always have.

[Sue] Bless her, there she is.

That's the only photo I've ever had of her.

And she was six weeks old, and that was just prior to her adoption, and they wrote to me and said would I sign the adoption, and I said, "On condition I have a photograph of her," and they sent me that one.

And you carry these things with you all the time?

And I carry my mum's ring because that was her last wish.

It's still in the original box.

[Davina] That's so beautiful.

Oh, look at that!

[Sue] Yep.

And she always said, if ever I was lucky enough ever to see her, please make sure she has her engagement ring.

Well, you are going to be able to give her this ring.

I am?

Your daughter has been found.

Where is she?

She's in Bristol.

Never!

So all the time I was walking around Bristol, -I could have seen her.

-Yeah.

Is she well?

She's really well.

Does she want to see me?

[Davina] She does.

All these years, I never thought it would happen.

[Davina] Let me get you a picture.

-[Sue] You've got a picture of her?

-[Davina] Yes.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

Oh, my goodness!

Oh, she's lovely.

What's her name now?

-That's Andrea.

-Andrea?

Oh, she's gorgeous.

-Can I keep this?

-Yes.

Can I?

She's written you a letter.

-Right.

-Would you like to read it?

Yeah... Oh.

"When I received the letter saying that you were trying to trace me, it came as a huge shock.

Knowing that you've been looking for me for some time fills me with sadness because I never felt the need or desire to find you.

Mum often asked me if I wanted to know anything about you as she was given a little information from the social workers.

I would always reply with, 'No I'm happy the way I am, thanks.'"

She must have had a happy childhood.

-She had a very happy childhood.

-Oh, good.

"Pain and sense of loss you must have felt breaks my heart.

Please rest assured the decision you made gave a very special couple the most treasured gift."

Oh!

Now I know that I did the right thing.

Because...

I haven't known that for all these years.

I kept doubting myself all the time.

That... Oh, that's wonderful.

[contemplative music playing] What do you think?

[Davina] This morning, after 44 years of searching, Sue will finally have the chance to meet Andrea... and give her the ring that her own mother was desperate to pass on.

They will meet in Bristol where Sue last held her daughter as a newborn baby.

-How are you?

-Very nervous.

[Nicky chuckles] This is something I never...

I never really thought about, you know?

-So to suddenly... -Think about it.

Yeah, yeah.

It's a new chapter now, it's a new beginning, it's... Yeah.

I'm going to have this new lady in my life.

Davina.

[Davina] Hello.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah, I think so.

Let's go.

So how were you this morning?

I feel as though I've got a bubble that won't burst.

I don't want it to burst.

I'm just so excited, so happy, but nervous.

-Yeah.

-Nervous as well.

Have you got the ring with you?

-I have.

-Have you?

[Sue] Oh, yes.

To be able to get it out and... knowing I'll be able to give it to her is a big, big thing.

[Davina] Sue and Andrea will meet in a hotel near the hospital where they were last together.

Thank you.

Right, so, this is it.

-I'm ready.

I am.

-Are you?

Okay.

[Andrea] Perfect.

Are we near?

-Soon.

-Are we?

Soon.

Listen, I'm going to say goodbye to you here.

Thanks so much.

Thank you so, so much.

You don't know what it means.

Thank you.

Hi there.

Hi.

[Andrea] Oh, it's so nice hugging you.

[Sue] I've waited so long.

[Andrea] I'm so glad you kept trying, I really am so glad you kept trying.

-Sit down.

-Thank you.

-We've got a lot to catch up on.

-We certainly have.

I'm sorry that I never looked for you.

No, no, don't be.

What upsets me is the thought that you've been looking for such a long time.

It doesn't matter now.

No, that's in the past now.

That's in the past now.

I doubted myself all these years whether I've done the right thing or whether I did the wrong thing.

You didn't do the wrong thing, you did the right thing.

So... thank you so much for giving me such a wonderful life.

I had such a wonderful upbringing.

We're a very close family.

In fact, Mum would love to meet you and say thank you herself.

-Oh!

-Because she...

I'd love to meet her.

She really does want to say thank you.

She sounds wonderful.

-She is a great mum.

-I'm so pleased.

I'm sure you're a great mum too.

And I will find out.

You will do, I hope you will do.

Yeah, definitely.

Definitely.

I want to give you something from my mum.

When I did actually get back talking to them, which took a long, long time, you were never talked about when my father was alive.

My father was so strict that everybody, even my mother, was frightened of my dad.

But dad died and then mum opened up a little bit to me.

And she always said, because my mum felt so guilty, that if ever I found you, "Please, will you give her my engagement ring?"

-[clicks tongue] -And I've brought it along, and I want you to have it.

Don't cry, please, because she wanted you to have it.

[Andrea sniffles] I've got it here.

I always said that I was hoping to give it to you one day, but I never, ever thought I'd be able to.

There you are, that's yours.

-I can't take that.

-Yes, you can.

You've got to because I'm not taking it back.

No, that's yours.

[Andrea] I will treasure it.

Oh, wow.

[Sue] I feel absolutely elated.

What I've always wished for has happened.

I've seen her, she's alive, she's happy.

I've got everything I ever wished for.

There you are.

That's the only photo I ever had of you.

Yeah, that's me.

The times I've longed and looked at this picture and here you are in the flesh.

I can't believe it.

[Andrea] I'm just so looking forward to what the future holds for us.

There is something there that I have obviously missed without actually knowing it, but now I just feel complete.

I know now at last that I've done the right thing and at last I can have a little bit of her back again.

I can't stop smiling, I can't stop laughing.

I want to shout to the world!

[Davina] Adopted as a young baby, Alan Ross-Harper has spent most of his adult life hoping that one day he would find his birth mother.

After a complicated search, we eventually traced her to the other side of the world, living in New Zealand.

I'm on my way to tell Alan that we have found his mother.

But with that comes a momentous piece of news, and it's something that's so rare in adoption cases... that his parents got married and they are still together.

I think it might be hard for him to take all of that in.

[doorbell rings] -Hey, Alan.

-Oh, hi, Davina.

-You all right?

-Yes, thank you.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

-Come through to the kitchen.

-Ah, thanks.

You've always wanted to hear your mum's side of the story.

-Yes, I have.

-And that's the thing that's been the most important to you, -and now you're going to get the chance to hear that.

-Seriously?

-We have found your mother.

-Oh, my God.

That's fantastic.

Where is she?

Is she local?

-She's not local.

-Isn't she?

She's in New Zealand.

Oh, my God.

That's why it was so hard.

Would you like a tissue?

Yes, please.

[sighs] 'Cause I couldn't find anything.

-Yep.

-Oh.

-So, is she well?

-Yeah, she's great.

-Oh, and has she got family?

-She's got family.

And she...

I mean, there's so much she wants to tell you.

Oh, God.

I can't wait.

Do you have any pictures of her?

[Davina] I have.

This is your mother.

[Alan] Oh, God.

-[laughs] I've got her teeth.

-[Davina laughing] [Alan] Oh, yeah.

Oh, she's lovely.

There's a bit more to your story.

Right.

So... your mum and your dad were dating.

-Yes.

-He also wasn't very supportive of her keeping the baby at the time, but they stayed together.

No?

Are they still together now?

God!

Oh, that's fantastic, but...

I never thought that.

He wasn't painted in a very good light in the file so I've always...

I've always dismissed him.

-Would you like to see a picture of him?

-I would, yeah.

I mean, talk about a family resemblance.

[Alan] Oh, dear, yeah.

Oh, how wonderful.

Your dad, he's feeling very guilty, I think.

I think it's something that they will need to try and come to terms with.

[Alan] I don't blame him for anything.

[Davina] They had another child.

Blimey.

So you have a sister.

[Alan] What a shock.

A wonderful shock.

You had sort of mentioned that if they had stayed together and had had another child and there was a family unit existing without you, that you would find that really hard.

Now that that has actually happened, how does that make you feel?

Now it's a reality, it's weird.

It, um... doesn't make me feel like that anymore.

It feels as though I want to join them.

[contemplative music playing] [Davina] Today, after a 54-year wait, Alan will take the first steps to being reunited with his family.

-Hey.

-Hey.

-Are you ready?

-I am, yes.

Come on then.

Are you all right?

Alan's mother Pat has flown over from her home in New Zealand.

[Patricia] Is the back all right, Jacky?

Mm, yeah, it looks good.

His sister Jacky has joined her.

She will meet her brother for the first time once he's met his mum.

I'll see you down there, I'll be waiting.

-Okay.

Thank you.

-Okay, bye.

Alan's father Dave has remained in New Zealand, giving Pat the first opportunity to get to know their son.

[Nicky] Have you spoken to each other about it now?

[Patricia] Yes, we have.

It has improved things because it's quite hard when you live with someone all these years and they don't talk about it.

He's written a letter.

I don't know what's in it.

I didn't want to read it.

[Alan] It would have just been lovely if all four of us could have met at the same time, but there's the future.

[Davina] I think in a funny kind of way, for your mum, for her to have you to herself today would be very special.

Alan has arranged to meet his mother at Eastbourne Pier, a favorite place just along the coast from his house.

That's where you're going to meet your son.

-Thank you.

-The Victorian Tea Rooms.

-Thanks for everything, Nicky.

-Good luck.

-You've been such a pal.

-Good luck.

Thanks for everything.

[Davina] They're gonna love you.

-[Alan] Yeah, hope so.

-So it will all be good.

So just keep walking up there, and they're in the cafe.

[Alan] Okay.

Oh, my God.

[laughing] Hello.

Hello, darling.

-How are you?

How are you?

-[crying] I'm good.

I'm fine now, now I've seen you.

-Oh, God.

-Yeah.

You look wonderful.

That's lovely for you to say.

It's nice cuddling you.

Oh, dear.

You don't have to apologize for anything, nothing whatsoever.

I'll just sit down.

[Alan sighing] -Will you sit and hold my hand?

-I will do.

-It's been a long time.

-I know, I know.

I never thought I'd see you again.

I can't get over... [laughing] -I can't get over it.

-I've never stopped wanting to hug you.

-It's so wonderful.

-[Alan sighs] So wonderful.

-Yeah, I know.

-Mm?

Yeah.

I just regret everything I did.

You shouldn't.

That's... You shouldn't regret that at all.

I don't bear any grudges.

I don't... -It's not about that, it's about... -No.

...finding my family again.

-Mm.

That's good.

-That's what it's about.

[Patricia] Here's a letter from Dave, your dad.

Um, I don't know what's in it, I haven't read it, so... [Alan] "Dear Alan, welcome back to the family.

I am not proud of what I did, but due to the circumstances and attitudes of that time, it seemed the right thing to do.

The future is going to be interesting, catching up with each other's lives.

I'm looking forward... forward to it.

Thank you for all your efforts in finding us.

Dave."

No.

Oh, you're starting me off now.

[Alan] I hope that I do have a relationship with my dad, um, and I just want to embrace it all and see him as soon as I can see him.

Doesn't matter what's happened all those years ago, family starts from now.

Oh.

Hello, you.

This is a massive new chapter in my life, and I'm going to embrace it and...

I can actually get a hug from my mother, that's incredible.

I've been waiting for a long time for a hug like that.

I haven't got a secret anymore.

It's gone.

I've got a son now, I can tell everybody about him.

And I...

I do, I feel younger.

[laughs] -Hello, Dad.

-God, after all this time.

At last, at long last, mate.

You all right?

-It's good to see you.

-And you.

You okay?

-Yeah, I'm fine.

-You look well.

-Oh!

-This is great.

-Oh!

-All this time!

-[Dave] Come on in.

Come on in.

-[Alan] Thank you, cheers.

[Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family"... the search for a father who vanished nearly 40 years ago... Is it because he has family that he doesn't want to know me?

Is he still alive or am I looking for someone that doesn't exist anymore?

And a woman who has been haunted by the moment she parted with her newborn baby.

It was the most heartbreaking thing to have to do, knowing you were leaving your baby.

[contemplative music playing]