[contemplative music playing] Over the past seven years, we've reunited more than 200 people with their long lost relatives.

Oh!

Cor!

We've found him.

You've found him?

[woman] Granddad!

[Davina] But meeting is just the beginning.

-I'm your big sister.

-You are.

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

I do worry I'm never, ever gonna get to see him again.

You always hope that it'll be like a fairytale, but, of course, it's not.

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

[man] I was so worried, I'd found my son, and then literally three months later I could lose him.

[gasps] You made it!

[Davina] This week three stories of families whose lives have been transformed in ways they never imagined.

As soon as I saw Ann, my life changed forever.

[man] After all these years, I feel as though I've got my family back.

But has the reunion been everything they hoped for?

This is so unusual for us.

It's all been a shock.

[dramatic music playing] Long Lost Family is full of surprises.

We can start looking for one person and end up finding lots of relatives we didn't even know existed.

Our first story features Cathie Cutler-Evans who came to us in 2016 desperate to find her birth mother who she hadn't seen in more than 50 years.

[Cathie] She's my mum.

She loved me knowing that she would never see me again.

And I need to know who that person is.

-What's for tea?

-Mmm, what do you fancy?

Cathie lives in Chester, where she runs a barber shop and raises her three sons.

My boys, they are my world.

Oh, bless!

Well, as a single mum, I've done my best.

I hope to be there for them.

And that's something that I got from my mum and dad.

-That is not you.

-That is me.

Cathie grew up on the Wirral with parents Bert and Anne.

[Cathie] Grandma and Granddad.

They'd have been in their early twenties there.

She knew from an early age that she was adopted.

But when Cathie reached her teens, she began to ask more questions.

[Cathie] I've said to mum, "So, you know, where do I come from?"

And mum said, "Well, come upstairs."

Cathie's mum handed her an old tin box.

Inside was a letter from Cathie's birth mother.

[Cathie] "To Catherine's mummy and daddy.

Please don't ever stop loving Catherine.

And if ever she asks why I gave her away, please try and help her understand it was because I loved her so much.

Adrienne."

All of a sudden, she was a real person.

I needed to know who she was.

Cathie's adoptive mum told her that Adrienne was 19 and single when she gave birth to Cathie in Birkenhead in 1964.

For the next ten weeks, Adrienne cared for Cathie herself.

But when Cathie was two months old, Adrienne gave her up for adoption.

[Cathie] Just must have been heartbreaking.

Such a long time has passed.

But I've still thought about her every single day.

Where is she?

What is she doing?

I imagine meeting her.

Yeah.

And I hope I can do that.

I really do.

[Nicky] After four months of searching, we eventually discovered that tragically, Cathie's birth mum had passed away in 2012.

But records showed she'd had two more children, a son Mark and a daughter Ann.

Thanks very much.

Our intermediary contacted Adrienne's children with the news Cathie was searching and got an immediate response.

Mark didn't want to appear on camera, but Ann asked to meet me.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Ann?

-Yes, Nicky.

[Nicky] Yeah.

Thank you.

Did you know that you had a sister?

-Yes, always.

-Always?

Mum always talked about Catherine.

She was never a secret.

So, yeah, this is a big deal to be found.

What did you know about her when you were growing up?

Mum didn't want to give her up for adoption.

It was really hard for her to fall pregnant at 19 unmarried.

And her family weren't supportive.

It just devastated her.

And I don't think she really ever got over it.

-Have you got any photos?

-Yeah.

[Ann sniffles] Oh, my God!

She was the best mum!

She was amazing!

But every time she talked about Catherine, you could see the pain.

For me it's been like a lifelong dream to meet her.

My heart just breaks, though, because it's all mum ever wanted.

And it's just that little bit too late.

Oh, my God!

She looks like mum.

Oh, my God!

That's my sister.

[Davina] We let Cathie know away from the cameras that her mum had passed away.

But I went to Cheshire to tell her that she had a sister longing to meet her.

I am so, so sorry that we couldn't bring you better news about your mum.

How have you been?

Um, very emotional that I'm never gonna get to see her.

And that's really hard.

Really, really hard.

I just wanted to come and tell you a bit more about her.

She spent most of her life on the Wirral.

-So did she marry?

-She did marry.

Gosh.

And you've got a half-sister and a half-brother.

Ann and Mark.

[Cathie] That's amazing.

-Would you like to see a photo?

-Oh, yeah.

Gosh, yeah.

Oh, God.

I've got her eyes.

-[Davina] You have.

-Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Ah.

Oh, wow.

[laughs] That means so much.

I know I won't get to see Adrienne, but I can't wait to meet Ann.

-Thank you.

-Oh, my God.

I'm so happy for you.

One week later, the sisters were reunited in Liverpool.

I'm your big sister.

You are.

You're my little sister.

-[laughs] -We've all got the same smile.

And the same cheeks.

Yeah, that's it, we're sisters.

[sighs] You just look so like mum.

Do I?

She just never, ever stopped thinking about you.

Like never.

She wanted more than anything to meet you.

-Have you been happy?

-Really happy.

Did you have a happy childhood?

I had the best mum and dad ever.

-That's all she wanted.

-As soon as I found out that you'd all known about me, I was so worried about today.

You shouldn't have been.

You didn't need to be worried.

I just didn't want to disappoint any of you.

Oh, my God!

You couldn't possibly.

I was worried because I just, I'm not mum.

And I wanted it to be mum here for you.

-But it should be.

-I know it should.

She would have just loved this so much.

-You honestly have no idea.

-And that's hard for you both.

But I'm here and I'm not going anywhere now.

You're not gonna get rid of me now.

And you're not gonna get rid of me either.

Since they met ten months ago, Cathie and Ann have spoken every day.

And despite spending nearly 50 years apart, the sisters are already inseparable.

[contemplative music playing] As soon as I saw Ann, I thought, "This is my sister."

My life changed forever.

[on-screen] I just love that picture.

From the moment she walked into the room, I knew we were gonna be best friends.

For two people who've not been brought up together, it's weird how actually alike we are.

[Cathie] We wear the same make-up.

Our dress sense is very similar.

Ann did beauty therapy.

I did hairdressing and beauty therapy at the same college.

It's just madness.

Cathie hasn't just welcomed a new sister into her life, on the day she met Ann, she was also reunited with her brother Mark.

I was a bit worried because she was an unknown.

So there's always that nagging doubt in the back of your mind that you think, "Ooh, what have we done here?"

But I suppose really I shouldn't have worried, because if she's got mum's genes, it was always gonna be okay.

Now, that was my 21st.

I can't believe that 12 months ago I didn't know of their existence.

And now it's like, how can they have not have been part of me?

But whilst the siblings continue to grow close, thinking about their mum Adrienne is difficult for all three.

[Ann] You can really see the likeness there, can't you?

When you smile, that's your smile.

-[Mark] Yeah, it is.

-It's mad.

When I saw Cathie, pfft, you know, just... took my breath away.

Because really she was what mum looked like at Cathie's age.

[Ann] I'll hear her laugh, and I swear sometimes I could turn to look at her and I'm expecting to see mum sitting there.

It's amazing but there's a tinge of sadness in it.

Because it reminds me that mum's gone.

She always had new glasses, didn't she?

She changed them every year.

[Cathie] It's just so lovely that I am so like her.

But then the reality that I will never, ever meet her is still really hard.

To help Cathie get to know her mum, Ann's arranged a big surprise.

I've got some footage of mum to show you.

She's dug out some old home movies that Cathie's never seen before.

♪ Happy birthday, dear nana ♪ [Adrienne] Come on.

Come on, that's it.

Come on, you're going to grow up and be a cowboy.

[family member] Is that nice?

Ah, nice!

It's just really weird having seen photographs, to suddenly hear mum's voice.

It makes a huge difference.

[Cathie] Oh, that is just so lovely.

It's very special, 'cause that totally brings her to life, you know.

To physically listen to her voice is just like, wow, you know, that's my mum.

But I will never get to hear that voice myself.

I'll never actually get to hear her say, "Hello, Cathie."

And that's very hard, just... Yeah.

Difficult.

[gulls screeching] [Davina] Cathie Cutler-Evans was reunited with her sister, Ann, and her brother, Mark, ten months ago.

Although the siblings have grown close, Cathie's still struggling with the realization that she'll never get to meet their mum, Adrienne.

I need to grieve for mum's passing really.

Um, and I don't think I've done that at all yet.

[Ann] It's still very raw for Cathie.

That's gonna take a long time for her to get over.

At the same time, how amazing that I've got Ann and Mark.

Although it's opened up a lot of wounds, it was absolutely worth going through.

Definitely.

Cathie's new relatives don't stop at Ann and Mark, she's now part of a big, extended family, and all that entails.

-You look gorgeous.

-Thank you.

Today, the sisters are meeting in Liverpool to celebrate Mark's 50th birthday.

I've bought him a watch.

Do you think he'll like it?

[Ann] He's gonna love it.

[Mark] It is really nice I can invite Cathie.

If I'd have been making up a guest list 12 months ago, obviously, she wouldn't have been on it.

Hi, Uncle Don, you alright?

This birthday's also a chance for Ann's children, Callum and Willow, to spend more time with their new aunt.

It's lovely to have Auntie Cath in our lives, isn't it?

She's part of the family now.

Cathie's son's-- Connor, Mason and Carter-- have also been given a warm welcome.

Still today, like, we've met loads of new people.

Haven't met 'em all yet but nearly there.

But there's one person particularly keen to see Cathie.

Her mum's sister, Cathie's aunt, Helen.

It's absolutely wonderful.

Just so glad that she came to find us.

My sister would be so proud.

And she would love Cathie so, so much.

I just know that.

[Cathie] There's not one person that hasn't made me feel welcome and wanted.

We are totally gonna be in each other's lives forever.

It is just incredible to think that I'm just one of this huge family.

And that is just more than I ever, ever imagined.

Wow, am I lucky.

Really am.

Our next story features John Ayton, who came to us desperate to find his birth father, Kenneth Harrison.

But when John came to us in 2015, he had no idea that his search would kick-start a much bigger journey to find out more about his birth family.

[John] I need my connection to him.

A sense of belonging.

And I've wanted that every single day of my life.

Builder John recently became a grandfather for the first time.

Little love, aren't ya?

Our little love.

[John] I love being a proud grandfather to Alfie.

I want to make sure that my family feel loved.

Because as a child, I didn't have that.

John was brought up in the village of Meltham, near Huddersfield.

For some reason I didn't feel part of that family.

When he was 13, John signed up to his local football team and was asked to bring his birth certificate as proof of age.

[John] We were all stood there waiting in turn to register.

And it came to my turn and I see straightaway from his look on his face there was something different.

I asked him if everything was okay.

He said, "Oh, yes, it's fine.

You're adopted, aren't you?"

And I just thought, what did he just say?

I'm adopted?

Looking for answers, John applied for his adoption file.

My mother was called Marlene... Marlene Munro.

Just 17 years of age.

My father's name was Kenneth Harrison, 22-year-old, but no date of birth.

John spent weeks in this library in Huddersfield combing birth, marriage and death records, in search of his birth parents.

[John] Went through microfiche after microfiche not finding anything.

Then finally he made a breakthrough.

[John] I found my mother, Marlene.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

I could see that my mother had died at the age of 19.

It was just very difficult to take.

My thoughts turned towards my father.

There's a chance that he was still alive.

But John hasn't been able to find any trace of his birth father.

[John] His name was Kenneth Harrison.

He was a plumber in Manchester.

That's all I know.

But he's my father.

[Nicky] With such a common name, it took us over 18 months to find someone we thought might be John's father.

Unfortunately he'd passed away over ten years ago, so we had no way of knowing if this was the right person.

However, he had left a daughter, now living in Bulgaria, and a son, Stephen.

Had we found the right Kenneth Harrison, and if so, was this John's half-brother?

The only way to be certain was to ask Stephen to take a DNA test.

I went to Poulton-le-Fylde, a market town near Blackpool, to meet Stephen and to give him the results of the DNA test.

-Stephen?

-Pleased to meet ya.

-You too.

-Come in.

[Nicky] So when we contacted you, how did you feel?

Couldn't really believe what I was hearing.

It was quite, um, a shock.

Well, we don't know yet, but I've got the DNA test to see if you are a half-brother with John.

"I am now enclosing my report of the DNA investigation.

In my opinion, these results offer strong evidence that you and John are close-related as half-brothers, sharing the same father."

[sighs] Wow.

[Nicky] It's a lot to take in.

[Stephen] I can't... [laughs] I can't believe I've got an older brother, dear me.

Obviously John's been searching for... for my dad.

-Yeah.

-Kenneth.

And, uh... Have you got a photo of your dad?

Yeah.

There you go.

[Nicky] That's what he looks like.

Wow!

It's, um, partly looking at my father.

[chuckles] Yeah.

The eyes.

Wow!

It's great.

He won't be my half-brother, he would be my brother.

You'll be able to tell him about your dad.

Yeah.

We can go to the pub.

[laughs] [Davina] We let John know the news about his dad away from the cameras.

But I went to visit him to tell him about his brother.

I'm really, really sorry that we couldn't bring you better news.

-How have you been?

-I don't think you're ever totally prepared for it, to hear that your father's died.

But it's been really tough.

[Davina, whispering] Here's your dad.

[John] Oh!

Oh, my goodness.

You've no idea what that means to me.

That's the first-ever photograph I've seen of any member of my family.

Wow!

Wedding day, by the look of that.

Yeah.

He was married three times.

Okay.

You've got a brother and a sister.

[whispering] Here's your brother.

Oh, my goodness.

That's great.

That's really, really great news.

There's a lot of catching up to do, a lot.

Just a few days later, the brothers met in one of John's favorite pubs in the Yorkshire Dales.

[Stephen] How are ya?

[John] I'm good.

[sighs] I'm so happy.

I'm so happy that you're here.

[Stephen] I had no idea I had a brother.

-Absolutely no idea at all.

-You had none whatsoever?

None.

You do look like him a lot.

How do you find that?

[blows raspberry] -I'm ecstatic about it.

-That's great.

At last I have a connection with... with someone who has the same blood as me.

[chuckles] It's been nine months since John and Steve met, and the brothers have become extremely close.

For John, it's the first time in his life that he's been able to build a relationship with a member of his birth family.

-So first time here for you then?

-Yup, certainly is.

I have a connection with Steve I've never, ever felt before with anyone.

This man is part of my family.

And that is bizarre.

It's surreal, but it's fantastic.

[Stephen] We just gelled straightaway.

The closeness happened very quickly.

And, uh... and, I don't know, it just works.

[John] He epitomizes everything I'd want in a brother.

In here there's just a warm feeling.

And it's getting us warmer all the time.

[Stephen] God!

It's spectacular, isn't it, today?

Yeah, it's bracing... -Uh, slightly, yeah.

-[both laughing] Steve has been sharing everything he can with John about their father, Kenneth.

[John] I love to hear anything about dad.

I'd have been forever wondering what kind of guy he was, what his interests were.

And within the last nine months, I've learnt so much.

I can't have seen dad up here, sat here on a bench, you know.

-He wouldn't have come walking then?

-No.

We might have gone fishing, but it was like, uh... you never really saw him sort of like in the countryside.

Meeting Steve has given John answers about his father.

But it has also reinforced how little he knows about the other half of him, his birth mother, Marlene.

I love every minute of spending time with Steve.

And it has been the best thing in the world to make the connection with dad.

But there's still this little hammer in the back of my head, tapping away saying, "You don't know anything about mum."

There's still that burning desire in there to find that other 50% of me.

John Ayton was delighted to be reunited with his brother, Steve, nine months ago.

But having this connection to his dad's side of the family has underlined just how little he knew about his mother's.

[John] I know more about myself than I ever did before.

But there's still part of me inside that is still empty.

It still needs filling.

Knowing that even the smallest scrap of information about his mum would make a huge difference to John, we felt compelled to try and help.

We knew from John's own research that Marlene had married a man called Ronald Dickinson just a few months before she died in 1961.

If we could find Ronald, maybe he would have photos of Marlene, or could even tell John what she was like.

But sadly we quickly discovered that Ronald too had passed away.

So we started looking for other family members instead.

And that's when we found something really exciting.

A cousin told us that Ronald and Marlene had had a child themselves.

Just a year after John, his mother gave birth to a daughter, Diane.

We'd found John a half-sister.

Diane lives in Worthing with her husband Derek.

We got in touch to tell her this remarkable news.

It was a big shock for Diane to discover she had a brother, but she wanted to meet John straightaway.

So, a few weeks later, they got together away from the cameras.

Now, four months on, Diane's coming to terms with everything that's happened.

It was my bolt out of the blue.

I don't think anybody ever knew.

I don't even think my father knew.

And I couldn't really get my mind round it, the thought that I had an older brother.

My mum's life was so tragically short that I only ever thought there was... that there was me.

With John living in Yorkshire and Diane on the south coast, the siblings are meeting up for the third time in London.

-Hello.

-Hello, you!

[John] Nice to see you.

After you.

The news just completely blew me away.

All of a sudden I've got this sister in front of me.

It's unreal.

I didn't think for one minute that there was any chance of any more siblings at all.

[Diane] Tell me about it.

It was weird seeing you in the flesh and knowing that you were my big brother.

[John] With that big hug, it was... it was fantastic.

Diane was only five months old when their mother, Marlene, passed away.

John and I are the only two people that are connected to my mother by blood.

We are unique.

But unfortunately there's a very limited amount of information that I can give him.

The sad thing is I never knew her either.

I have got various pieces from her that have been given to me.

I've got her ring here.

[John] It's just great, isn't it?

[Diane] Well, I never take that off.

[John] So that's her wedding ring?

[Diane] I think it's an eternity ring.

But basically that... that's hers and that's what she wore.

[John] The feeling inside of having this live connection to mum through Diane is something I never thought for one minute I'll ever experience.

[Diane] Our relationship is very new and we've still got loads to find out about each other.

[John] I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with Diane.

I'm loving every minute of it.

It's great.

[Davina] John and Diane now have the rest of their lives to build their relationship.

But after such an extraordinary turn of events, I wanted to catch up with John myself to talk about what happened.

John's spent his whole life desperate for any kind of information about his birth mother.

I wonder what Diane's been able to tell him and what kind of impact that's had on John's life.

-Hey!

How you doing?

-Nice to see you again.

And you.

This is so unusual for us, to be able to find two siblings, but one from each side of your family.

[John] It's all been a shock.

There was almost no possibility that mum could have been pregnant between the times she'd had me and passed away.

And yet, hold on a minute, this is my sister.

A sister.

I never even knew about her.

It's better than winning any lottery.

And what's Diane been able to tell you about your mum?

She was able to fill in a few blanks there for me.

I'm learning about who she was.

But the question that I've been wanting to ask all my life was, "Do you have a picture of mum?"

Said, "Oh, yeah.

I've got one in my hallway."

-You haven't got it, have you?

-Of course.

[Davina gasps] [Davina] Ooh, my goodness!

[gasps] -I think she looks like you.

-[John] Do you?

[Davina] Yes!

I've wanted it forever, this picture.

And it's there.

And how lovely to have that.

And there's something else.

What did she give you?

[John] This was mum's Bible.

It's a bit battered and a bit worn.

But mum has actually held this in her hands.

Um, and there are mum's rose leaves that she's put in her Bible and pressed between the pages.

And, and they've been there ever since.

And spectacular that Diane brought that for you.

[John] Yeah.

Very much so.

For me, that's priceless.

Seeing this, this is what it's all about.

For anybody that's thinking, well, it's too late, you are an amazing example of why it is still worth looking for something.

[John] Last June, none of this was here for me, none of it.

And all of sudden there's, there's everybody.

It's really, really amazing, isn't it?

I've got my family around me every day from now on.

And, yes, it's what I've always wanted.

I'm so happy for you.

[laughing] Thank you so much.

Our final story features Maureen Charlton, who came to us seven years ago looking for her brother Michael, who had disappeared from her life when she was just 14 years old.

[man] Two and eight, 28.

[Maureen] Nobody ever mentioned him.

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

-There's a letter for you from Santa!

-[child] Yes.

Yes!

[Davina] Fifty-five-year-old grandmother Maureen grew up in Stockton-on-Tees.

[Maureen] It was good days, yup.

Me dad was a very quiet, placid man.

But me mam was the one that laid the law down.

You done as she said or you got the consequences for it.

Maureen had three brothers: Graham, Shaun, and the eldest, Michael.

Michael was always my hero.

I adored him.

I looked up to him.

[contemplative music playing] Maureen's most precious memory of her brother happened when she was ten years old.

[Maureen] I really wanted to learn how to ice skate.

So, Michael decided he would bring me.

He led me onto the ice and he said, "Just gently, one foot at a time, and you'll do it."

And eventually I was skating round.

But in 1971, when Maureen was 14, everything changed.

[Maureen] And I heard my mam shouting and screaming.

When I walk in, Michael's coat's gone.

So I said, "Where's Michael?"

And she just went, "He's gone.

He's not coming back and you are not to mention his name again."

The last time Maureen saw Michael was 40 years ago at this house where she grew up.

[Maureen] First of all, slowly photos started to go.

She was, like, erasing him from her memory.

I think she was hoping that over the years, I would just forget that I ever had an elder brother.

It was only when her mum died in 2007 that Maureen finally found out the truth about what had happened.

[Maureen] We were sat discussing the funeral.

I said to Graham that by rights it should be Michael that's here.

He's the eldest.

And Graham just turned to me and he went, "He's gay."

I was so mad.

I said, "Do you mean to say that for 40 years, my brother's been living a separate life from us?"

He's gay, so what?

That is a pathetic excuse to disown anybody.

If I'd have been older and I'd have known what was going on, I'd have stood by him.

He was 21 year old and he must have, like... he must have been devastated.

Maureen's been desperate to find her brother ever since.

[Maureen] I'm just praying that he hasn't forgotten that he has got a sister.

Because I never, ever forgot about him.

[Nicky] Finding Michael was always going to be difficult.

All we had to go on was his name and date of birth.

It took weeks of trawling electoral rolls before finally we managed to track him down to Brighton.

-Michael?

-Hello there.

-Nicky Campbell.

-Hi, how are you?

[Nicky] When you heard that Maureen had got in touch...

I was over the moon.

It absolutely just threw me after all this time.

Because I have thought of trying to find them.

But I have put it off for so many years, thinking that they didn't want to know.

So you feared rejection?

You thought they just weren't gonna be interested?

Do you remember the circumstances of the last time that she saw you at all?

Must have been the day that I went home to tell them that I was gay.

Because things changed from that day.

What was it like, you know, in the north of England growing up gay?

It was hard enough without getting pressure from my mother.

But your own mother to behave like that towards you because of the way you are.

It does hurt, when you're very-- when you do have a very close family, and all of a sudden you're rejected.

And it's not through any violence or anything like that.

It's... it's the lifestyle which I am living.

I am gay and I've always been gay.

And I'm not ashamed of it.

In the end I just put the shutters up.

It's the only way I could deal with it.

[Nicky] Time to unblock it.

-This is Maureen now.

-[Michael] Oh, my goodness.

[Nicky] She describes you as her hero.

That's really nice.

I do want to see her.

It's been put off for too long.

Thank you very much.

[Davina] After spending nearly 40 years desperate to know what had happened to her eldest brother, I could finally tell Maureen that we'd found Michael.

-It's nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

I met her at a hotel close to where she lives.

Come on, let's go through.

Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like with Michael?

My childhood might not have been as hard and as cold.

So, I mean, there's an awful lot of anger.

There's anger, anger for what my mam and dad did.

I want my brother back in my life.

I want him to meet my family.

[Davina] Well... we've found him.

[gasps] Really?

Honest, you have?

Oh, there's... Oh, God!

-[Davina] Would you like to see a picture?

-[Maureen] Yes, please.

[inhales sharply] Oh, he's put a lot of weight on.

[both laughing] Oh, gawd!

Oh, thanks.

Can I keep it?

[Davina] Of course you can.

Oh!

Oh, me brother.

I can't believe it.

The next day, Maureen and Michael were reunited in a café in Redcar, where they spent childhood days out.

Come here.

[sobbing] Forty years I've waited for this.

Oh!

Where have you been in my life?

I just want to tell you that I knew nothing.

-I didn't think you did.

-No.

They kept me in the dark right up until mam died.

We've got to forget about that now and just build the future.

-That's what I want.

-That's what I want as well.

Give me another hug.

Seven years after being reunited, Michael and Maureen are making up for lost time.

They speak regularly.

But after more than 40 years apart, they're having to get to know each other all over again.

[laughing] The pair rarely see their two other brothers, but Maureen frequently makes the trip to Brighton to visit Michael.

Morning!

Two coffees, please.

[cashier] No worries.

You've got the day for it today.

[Maureen] It's beautiful, isn't it?

Life wasn't the same for 40-odd year.

It was always as though there was a piece of me missing.

Now that piece is back and, yeah, I couldn't be more happy.

Oh, the tide's coming in, look.

It's absolutely brilliant that we're back in each other's lives.

How many years is it since we met?

Seven.

Seven year ago now.

But even though they shared a childhood, Michael and Maureen found it hard to just pick up where they left off.

When she walked in, I thought, "Wow, how different you are."

Forty years have passed.

I didn't know Maureen anymore.

[gulls screeching] Maureen Charlton was reunited with her brother Michael seven years ago.

But after spending nearly 40 years apart, the siblings couldn't just slip back into the relationship they had as children.

The Michael I remember was a typical 21-year-old.

So to see him just coming up 60, it was sort of like, really?

If I'd have walked past him in the street, I wouldn't have recognized him.

You've gone from a little girl to a married woman.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-And I've missed all of that.

[Maureen] Oh, my God!

All those years we've wasted because people just couldn't be honest.

As often happens when families are separated for so long, the pain of being kept apart has continued to haunt Michael and Maureen.

It still hurts to get told that I wasn't welcome in the house anymore.

That just shattered me.

And it was meant.

That was the last time I set foot in the house.

Over the years I just buried it.

I'd felt shut out for so long.

And I'd built up this image of nobody caring, not wanting to know me.

So to suddenly realize that she did care and she always had done, it was overwhelming.

But I didn't want to get hurt again.

[Maureen] It was a slow process to begin with.

He'd been hurt for so many years.

And I can understand where he was coming from.

But it was hard for me as well.

It took a while for me to get over resenting my mam.

Because I lost a brother that I adored to bits.

And for 40 years I had no idea why.

And that was painful.

Both of them have had to find a way to forgive their parents for what happened.

[Maureen] The more me and Michael have got closer, I think it's healed us both.

We've built that bridge.

We've righted that wrong that happened to the pair of us.

[Michael] I am as I am.

I would not alter my life, and for Maureen to accept that, that makes a lot of difference.

Because I don't feel half-empty, I feel as though I've got my family back.

-[Maureen] Is that enough for you?

-[Michael] That's it.

Since they were reunited, Maureen and Michael have started to build new, shared family memories.

[Maureen] So...

I've brought some photos to show ya.

This is us on mine and Peter's wedding day.

-That's a nice one.

-It is, isn't it?

-It's a lovely photo.

-Yeah.

[Maureen] Michael missed everything that had gone on in my life.

He'd missed my first marriage, he'd missed all my children being born.

So five year ago when I married Peter, I asked Michael to give me away.

I mean, I know it was a very special day for you, but it was also a very special day for me.

'Cause I thought I'd never do anything like that with any of the family.

[Maureen] It meant the world.

He'd been out of my life for so long, and to have him stand next to me, it was an emotional moment for the two of us.

[Michael] I've realized that Maureen loved me.

It wasn't something she was just saying.

I knew that she did really love me.

[Maureen] Come on then.

[Michael] I feel like a big brother now.

After all these years, I'm getting that feeling back.

[Maureen] This is what I've always wanted.

What's that over there?

If I need him, I know for a fact he'll be there for me.

I love him to bits, the daft bugger.

[laughs] [Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family: What Happened Next"... we catch up with three families separated by extraordinary circumstances.

[woman] I do look at him and think, "Oh..." [sighs] "...I've got my son back."

[man] I've gotta be ready to accept the good things and the bad things.

But some things are harder to embrace than the others.

[cheering] I've lived all my life being half-Nigerian but never really knew what it meant.

[peaceful music playing]