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

[man] I want to know that I'm part of a family, to feel loved by and to express love to.

This is my baby, Samantha.

I need to see her again.

I really do.

I just want my dad to be proud of me.

To turn around and say, "That's my son."

Finding someone when the trail's gone cold can feel like an impossible task.

But that's where we step in... -We've found your brother.

-Have you?

[crying] ...offering a last chance to people desperate for help.

-[Davina] Here's your mother.

-Oh, my gosh.

I've imagined this moment my whole life.

[Nicky] We've no idea where our searches will lead.

We've travelled the world, uncovering family secrets and finding people that nobody else could trace.

-Laura.

-¿Cómo está?

Buenos días.

[Nicky] That's your daughter.

Gracias.

[Davina] An d finally answering questions that have haunted entire lives.

I'm your bigger brother.

[laughs] I've always wanted a big brother.

This week, two people trying to solve family mysteries-- A woman who knows nothing about her father...

I need to find out who he was, what he did with his life.

There's a lot of things I don't know.

...and a sister whose search for her brother has an expected outcome.

It's quite a story.

Oh!

[dramatic music ends] [Davina] Our first story begins in Scotland and a woman searching for the father she's never met.

[whimsical music playing] [woman calling dog] Samantha Whyte is a mother of three grownup children and lives in Glasgow.

For over ten years, she's been looking for her Swiss father, Jean-Pierre Wandfluh.

[Samantha] To meet my father now would be a miracle.

Just to be, you know, to be in my father's arms, to have him hold me.

It'd be like a dream come true.

[kids yelling] [trolley dings] Samantha knows that the last place her mum saw her father was in Zurich, Switzerland.

She's travelled here for the first time.

This is a photo of my mother, um, and this train station, uh, back in the 8th of April, 1970.

And this is the only picture I have of my father.

And he wrote on the back of it to my mother, "My love, Jean-Pierre."

To think that they both were-- were in here at the same time.

They could have been hand in hand, walking.

It's quite surreal.

When Jean-Pierre met Samantha's mother, Alexandra, she was working in Zurich as a housekeeper.

It was like love at first sight, I think.

[cafe chatter] You could see the sort of a twinkle in her eye when she spoke about my father.

He's very handsome.

Very handsome, indeed.

She did say that she had lots of laughter with my father.

Every moment was basically memories made.

Although they were short-lived.

Just a year into Alexandra's stay, the couple's time together came to an end.

My gran was ill back in Glasgow.

And although my mum was very much in love with my father, she had to go home to look after her.

On her return to Glasgow, Alexandra discovered she was pregnant.

Hello!

Where's my cuddle?

Hello!

My mum wrote to my father to tell him.

And he wrote back for my mum to go back to Switzerland with "our child" to be a family.

But my mum decided that wasn't an option, because she couldn't go away and leave my gran.

So, there was never any other contact made with my father.

On the 20th of January, 1971, Samantha was born and was raised by her single mother.

But as Samantha got older, the absence of her father began to take its toll.

Having a father would have made a lot of difference in my life.

School-- [emotional] there was a lot of, you know, nasty things being said-- name calling.

I remember coming home and Mum asked, "What's wrong?"

And I said to her, "I don't have a father."

That's when she sat me down, and she showed me the picture.

And she looked at me, and she says, "You have got a father, so don't let anybody ever tell you otherwise."

And I was so happy to know who my father was.

For years, the photo and name were enough for Samantha, and she didn't attempt to find out more about Jean-Pierre.

But then, in 2002, everything changed.

Mum became really, really ill with cancer.

And she had said to me, you know, "In the bedroom, there's a brown case under the bed."

And she says, "You don't need to open it now, but everything you need to know is in that case."

It was only once her mother had passed away that Samantha felt able to look in the case.

It was like a treasure chest.

I found pictures of my mum in Switzerland.

Letters from my father.

I mean, it's great what he's putting in the letters about, you know, his love for my mum.

And things like that.

"Love and kisses, your Jean-Pierre."

[laughs] To see his handwriting, I could see my own handwriting, almost.

It made me feel that my father was part of me, and I was part of him.

Samantha decided to look for her father.

The letters included a PO Box address for Jean-Pierre, but when Samantha followed it up, it no longer existed.

That was quite hard.

I thought, "That's it, I'm never gonna be able to find out where he is."

Come on, girl.

After more than a decade of searching, Samantha's got no further and is still desperate to find her father.

I do feel that I only know half of me.

There's another half of me that I don't know.

And I need to find him for me, for me.

Hiya.

With the only address that Samantha had for Jean-Pierre no longer in use, she tried everything she could to find him online.

But not speaking German or French, she had no success.

What was needed was a search on the ground.

[Nicky] In Switzerland, unlike the UK, there are no national online records of births, marriages, and deaths.

Everything is held in local town halls.

But as we didn't know where Jean-Pierre was born, we didn't know where to begin.

What we did have on our side was his surname-- Wandfluh.

It's an unusual name with only about 100 Wandfluhs in the Swiss phone records.

So, we wrote to them all, hoping that one of them must know something about Jean-Pierre.

Soon after, we received a letter from a David Wandfluh, telling us he was related to Jean-Pierre.

I've come to meet him, in his home town of Biel.

Sam has waited so long to find her father.

I wonder if David will be able to lead me to him.

-David.

-Hi.

Nicky?

-Very nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Please take a seat, and, uh... -Thank you.

Thank you so much for answering the letter and agreeing to meet, David.

Um, how are you related to Jean-Pierre?

Jean-Pierre, um, is my uncle, or was my uncle.

-Was?

-Yes.

Because, uh, he died 20 years ago.

-Twenty?

-More than 20 years ago.

Uh, 1993 he died.

This is the worst possible news for Sam.

How did he die?

Uh, he was 50 years old at that time, and he had, um, strong asthma.

And what he knew, and we, is that he will die when he's young.

Doctors said, uh, maybe he will have, uh, 30 years old.

But he died with 50 years old.

So, he was ill all his life, and the prognosis was-- was not good.

That's true.

Yes.

I think my father maybe know more, because, uh, at the time when he died, he was with him.

Right.

Does he live far from here?

He lives in the area of Biel, yes.

Okay.

It would be great to speak to him to-- to find out what we can from him for-- for Sam.

[wind blowing] David told me that Jean-Pierre did marry, but his widow lives in Italy.

He's taking me to meet his father, Walter, Jean-Pierre's younger brother... -Please.

-Thank you.

...and David's sister, Sybille.

-I introduce you.

-Hello.

-My sister, Sybille.

-Hi.

-Very nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Walter.

My father, Walter.

-Hello, sir, how are you?

Nice to meet you.

-We've got lots to talk about.

-[Sybille] Okay.

-[David] Please, take a seat.

-Okay, thank you very much.

Did Jean-Pierre have any other children, apart from Sam?

No.

We don't think so, no.

We are surprised that he have one child.

[laughs] [Sybille] And we have many questions also.

Where is she?

Where she come from?

You know?

It's amazing.

[laughs] But, Walter, why did he not, um, tell you about his daughter, Sam?

[Walter] My family was not together.

And my brother grew up with my mother, and I grew up with my father.

And my brother was very sick, uh, all his life.

And, uh, this is the reason why my mother taking care of him.

And, uh, this also the reason why I go to my father, because my brother need more, uh, attention than me, because he was so sick.

And I don't saw him for maybe 20 years.

And this is the reason why we don't talk about, uh, family and something like this.

What age were you when you came back together again?

Between 38 and 42.

So, at the end, when he passed on, you were-- you were friends?

Yeah, very good, yeah.

And what are your memories of your uncle, Sybille?

He was charming, really.

And was always very, you know, friendly and laughing and talking and... [Walter] This is him.

That's him.

Nice glass of wine.

[laughs] He liked to drink or to smoke.

And he was very happy to live his life so good as he can, and, uh, because he was very sick.

So, he-- he was thinking, uh, pfft-- I don't know how long I live, so, what is tomorrow?

And he loved life, did he?

-Yes.

-[Sybille] Yes.

Really.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

He was a man with a warm heart, so... Yeah.

[David] A heart in the right place.

[Nicky] And I wonder what he would think of today.

Was he a man of emotion?

[Walter] Yes.

-Mm-hm.

-Yes.

We miss him even now.

Sad that he never could meet his daughter.

Would you like to see her photograph?

-[Sybille] Okay, yeah.

-Sure.

Cool!

-She looks lovely, huh?

-Yes.

I see Jean-Pierre in her-- the eyes.

The eyes, yeah.

Really.

[speaking foreign language] [Sybille chuckles] She's beautiful.

Gorgeous.

She's in our family.

No problem.

[laughs] Your family.

I'm happy and also, uh, curious.

I want to know a lot of things, and I hope, uh, that she will like us.

[David] I hope that we can share some memories with her about Jean-Pierre.

I will hoog her.

[laughs] -Hug.

-Hugging.

[Sybille] Hug.

[laughs] [Davina] But before we tell Samantha the outcome of her search... Our second story's on behalf of a woman who's wanted to solve a family mystery for 50 years.

[gentle music playing] [woman] It was a secret, because nobody spoke of it.

And finding my brother would put an end to that secret.

[Davina] 57-year-old Vanda James lives in Norfolk, not far from the house she grew up in with her single mother, Evie, in Lowestoft.

It was here, when Vanda was 6, that she discovered the secret that would shape both their lives.

[Vanda] I came back from staying at my grandma's, and I came in the front door and opened the living room door, and there was a baby!

And the baby was sitting on a gold-colored sofa, propped up on two cushions.

I didn't know if it was a baby girl or a baby boy, it was just dressed in white.

I remember putting my hand out to touch the baby's hands, 'cause they were so tiny.

And Mum come through from the kitchen and didn't say anything.

I never saw Mum pick the baby up or cuddle it or-- or give it a feed.

It was there for that afternoon when I came back... and then the baby vanished.

The identity of the baby remained a mystery until Vanda was 10 an d she stumbled across a clue.

And I sneaked into Mum's bedroom when she was out and opened her bedside cabinet.

And then I saw some diaries.

And I flicked through, and then I saw there was details of this Kenneth, baby boy born 29th of October, 1964.

In a way, I was a bit excited to think that I'd discovered who the baby was.

And I thought, oh, uh, it-- it was my brother.

And I just wanted to know what happened to him.

But Vanda didn't feel able to ask her mother any questions.

I knew I couldn't speak about it.

I knew it was taboo.

It was Mum's secret, which became my secret.

And then, as the years went on, I felt that I was growing up with a very unhappy mother who was distant and always seemed to be deep in thought.

And I realized that there was a lot of things left unspoken.

But before Vanda could pluck up the courage to confront her mum, Evie died unexpectedly, in 1990.

It was only then that Vanda found out why her mother had never talked about the baby.

When I got to the funeral, the atmosphere was uncomfortable.

I did overhear some whisperings, like, "Oh, did she know?"

And it was then I began to realize it was a huge family secret.

[crows cawing] Vanda spoke to her cousin, who revealed that Kenneth was the result of an affair between her mother, Evie, and a local married man.

For fear of a scandal, the family had insisted that her mother give the baby up.

I felt very sad that Mum never had the choice.

And it made me understand the way she was to me and why she didn't allow herself to get close to me.

She took all her troubles to the grave.

Ever since, Vanda's been wanting to bring the secret out into the open and find Kenneth.

If this is all I can do now to make it okay for what Mum wasn't able to do and for Kenneth and for myself, then that would be a miracle.

[laughs] When Vanda came to us, she had no idea what happened to her baby brother.

Where was he taken?

Who did he grow up with?

Was he adopted?

[Nicky] This was the first thing we needed to find out.

[contemplative music playing] To do this, we had to work wi th a specialist intermediary, legally allowed to access adoption records.

And the news came back that Kenneth had been adopted as a baby, and his name changed to John Best.

A search for John Best on the electoral rolls found him living at an address in Hainault, East London, up until 2007.

But after that date, John dropped off the electoral rolls completely.

Vanda's brother had disappeared again.

Knowing there was no death record, the only explanation we could think of was that he'd moved abroad.

[voice on loudspeaker] This is Hainault.

[Nicky] But with no other clues, the intermediary wrote to Jo hn's old address in Hainault, hoping someone there might know what had happened to him.

[beep] And then we received a reply that we could never have anticipated.

A woman contacted us to say that she used to be John Best.

She'd undergone gender transition nearly ten years ago.

John was now Debbie, a transgender woman.

Debbie is engaged to her partner, Angie, and still lives in Hainault.

She agreed to meet me to find out more about her birth sister.

For 50 years, Vanda's wanted to know what happened to her baby brother.

And now, the mystery's been solved.

I'm going to meet Vanda's sister, Debbie, and find out her story.

[suspenseful music playing] [door bell ringing, dog barking] -Hello!

-Debbie?

-Yeah!

-I'm Nicky.

-Ah, nice to meet you.

-You too.

-Would you like to come in?

-I'd love to.

[Debbie] In you come.

His name's Merlin.

[both laugh] [Debbie] In you come.

[Nicky] Hi, Merlin.

[Debbie] This is Nicky.

So... how did you feel when you found out Vanda was looking for you?

Overwhelmed.

Really, I never expected this.

And all this time, not knowing.

Not knowing anyone was out there for me.

Did you know anything about your-- your adoption?

I-- I knew I was adopted, 'cause my mum and dad, um, they told me when I was about 11 or 12.

And they didn't really know a lot-- a lot about my parents, you know.

Um... never thought nothing of it, really.

Just, uh, got on with life and accepted it.

Until I got a letter in the post and realized I had a sister.

Vanda's been looking for you and thinking about you for 50 years.

And she remembers this baby on the sofa.

And she remembers taking the little baby's hand.

And then, very shortly after that, you disappeared.

Wow!

Then, when she was 10, she found, uh, a diary entry.

October the 29th, 1964, um, and it was your name that she'd given you.

What was my real name?

-Kenneth.

-Kenneth?

Wow!

Wow!

That's news.

I never knew my real name.

My first name.

Wow!

That's, uh, amazing.

So, there's her through her life, right from when she was 6 years old, thinking about what happened to you.

And what about your life?

What was happening with you?

I've really had a great, great life.

Um, but all my life, I wanted to be a girl.

But it was, you know, you couldn't do it.

It was this-- it had to be kept a secret.

And then when I became Debbie, um, there was a lot lifted off my-- off my shoulders.

I did feel-- I did fe-- feel free.

But, obviously, I'm a female now, and I just feel a little bit, um, little bit, um, scared.

You're scared of what?

Even though I was that baby, she's-- although she's found me, will she be understanding?

So, you're worried about her reaction?

I am worried, a little bit worried about it, yeah.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

Obviously, she would have liked for me to be the perfect brother.

But you're still that baby.

Yeah, I'm still that baby, obviously, yeah.

Do you want to see a picture of her?

Yeah, I'd love to see a picture of her, yeah.

[Nicky] That's your sister.

-Beautiful.

-Mm, isn't she?

What a beautiful smile.

Well, she's written you a letter.

[Debbie] "Hello, Kenneth.

I saw you as a tiny baby on the sofa.

You disappeared without explanation.

I did not dare ask where the baby had gone.

[voice quivering] [sniffs] Mm.

If you had been in our lives, everything would have been so much different, in so many ways, for all of us."

[Nicky] You okay?

You alright?

Yeah.

Oh, dear.

"It would be very wonderful to meet you with an open mind and an open heart.

In gratitude, wishing you the very best in life, Vanda."

[sighs heavily] Oh, dear.

So, having read the letter, how do you feel about meeting her now?

It'll be overwhelming.

[kiss] Beautiful letter.

[Davina] For over a decade, Samantha Whyte's been looking for her father, Jean-Pierre.

But, sadly, we've discovered that he died before she'd even started her search.

[Davina] Hi!

Out of respect, we've told Samantha off-camera that her father has passed away.

I am, however, bringing her some good news, and that is that she has some lovely Swiss relatives who are really keen to meet her.

And they really want to welcome her into their family.

Thank you.

-Hi, Davina.

-Hey!

-Nice to meet you.

-How are you doing, Samantha?

I'm fine, thanks.

Thanks for seeing me.

[Samantha] Welcome.

Come through.

So, Samantha, I am so dreadfully sorry that we couldn't give you better news.

How-- how have you been coping?

It was a real shock, yeah, it was.

More a shock than saying, oh, he passed away one or two, or-- or even a few years ago.

But all that-- that length of time that had passed.

Thinking about, you know, "I wonder where he is," and all the time, he wasn't here.

[Davina] Hmm.

And, sadly, he never had any more children.

Oh, goodness.

Oh.

-Sorry.

-It's okay, it's okay.

[sniffs] And we know that, because we found Jean-Pierre's brother... -Ah!

Oh, goodness.

-Yeah.

So, you have an Uncle Walter.

Walter had no idea about you, because at that time, they weren't really close.

Do you want a bit of a hug?

Yeah.

[Davina] It's just a lot, it's a lot.

Yeah, are you gonna come and say hello?

Do you know your mummy's upset?

So, Walter.

Oh, goodness.

He's really pleased to hear about you.

And he's got two children, called David and Sybille.

Ah.

And they're all really excited and want to meet you.

I've got pictures of them, if you'd like to see.

-Yeah, please.

-Yeah?

[Samantha] Yeah.

[sniffs] So, that's David... Oh, wow!

Goodness.

Wow!

-That's Sybille.

-Oh, wow!

-And this is Walter here, yeah?

-[Davina] Yeah.

I've never ever known my father had a brother.

And to know that-- that he has, um, a family.

Goodness.

It would be so great to find out, you know, about my father.

Um, yeah, there's-- they can now fill in, hopefully, the blanks.

They've written you a letter.

Would you like to read it?

Oh, yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, yeah.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

"Dear Samantha, after more than 40 years, we found out that our family was bigger than we thought... [emotional] and that we had a so-far-unknown cousin-- you.

Sadly, your father died 22 years ago.

He was a kind and warm-hearted man.

[crying] Always in a good mood and ready for a joke when we were together.

[sniffs] [laughs] There is a lot more to tell you about your father, and now that we know we have another cousin, we are looking forward to sharing all our memories with you.

We are happy to welcome you in our family."

Oh.

Oh, goodness.

That's-- isn't that a beautiful letter?

That means so much.

The most important thing is I need to know who my father was, who he really was.

So I'm looking forward to finding out, you know, everything I can about him.

[seagulls calling] [Davina] Today, one month after I met Samantha in Glasgow, she's travelled to Biel to meet her Swiss uncle and cousins.

I'm excited and very nervous.

But looking forward to meeting the family.

Very much so.

I've got lots of questions.

I'm very excited to-- to see her.

[bell tolls] [both speaking foreign language] [Sybille] And, uh, I cannot wait.

[David] It's such a surprise, and, uh, it's a gift also for us.

[Walter] I'm really happy to see her.

And that's the reason today is the happy day.

[speaking foreign language] The family are meeting at a guest house close to where Sa mantha's father, Jean-Pierre, spent the last weeks of his life.

[upbeat music playing] [David] Ah.

[Walter] Hi.

[Samantha crying] [Walter gives kiss] Nice to meet you.

This is my son, David.

[David] Hi, Samantha.

-Nice to meet you.

-You too.

[Walter] This is my daughter, Sybille.

She's your cousin.

[both crying] [sentimental music playing] -[Walter] Are you happy?

-Yeah.

[laughs] We too.

[David] Please, sit down.

We have so many questions to you.

[laughs] -[Samantha sighs] -Finally.

[Samantha] Yeah.

Oh, goodness.

You had a really nice father.

Uh, he had always a good mood.

Uh, and we always had a good time together.

-That's good.

-[David] A really nice person.

He came in a room, and you had to look, you know.

He was, uh, how you say, tall?

-[Samantha] Tall.

-Tall.

And when he came in, you know, his smile, he has the eyes, everything is-- you had to look at him.

And then he just smiled to you, and you could start laughing.

[laughs] It's a very long time you not meet your father.

It's more than 20 years he's dead.

And, uh...

I'm a little bit sad, because you not saw him before or he not saw you, because he would be very proud on you, you know?

[Walter] I'm sorry.

[laughs] -Come on.

-[Samantha] Okay.

[Walter gives kiss] [Walter] We are here now, okay?

[Samantha sniffs and cries] [Walter] Give me your hand.

-[Samantha] Thank you.

-What is your feeling now?

I am so, so happy.

Unbelievably happy to... -We too.

-Yeah, honestly.

-I'm... -[Walter] Yeah, just... -[Walter] Just lucky.

-[Samantha] Speechless.

[laughs] Lucky beyond-- beyond words.

I feel as if I've known them for-- for ages.

It's strange.

[Samantha] Definitely some kind of connection there.

I'm really happy that we could see you.

-Really, really.

-I'm so pleased...

It's very special for me, you know?

She's beautiful.

She's lovely.

[Sybille] We can see her, and I can talk to her, and we can really be together.

You are a part of my family, and a part of my brother.

Uh-huh, yeah.

That's the product of my brother.

Yeah, of course.

I see in her sometimes, uh, saw my brother, you know.

It's like a mirror.

-It's here.

-It's here?

She is a person who is very emotional, you know, very open.

She is really wonderful.

So, I think my brother would be very happy, very proud of her.

Okay, I haven't met my father, but I've met the closest people to him.

[solemn music playing] So, there's a continuation of the family.

[bell tolling] It's a new chapter, yeah.

Yeah, definitely a new chapter in my life now.

[upbeat music, birds chirping] [Davina] Vanda James is searching for her younger brother, who she last saw briefly when she was 6.

Vanda has clear memories of her baby brother, Kenneth.

And then, suddenly, he just vanished from her life, and she's always wondered what happened to him.

And now, 50 years later, baby Kenneth is a transgender woman, Debbie.

And that's going to come as a big surprise to Vanda.

-Hi, Vanda.

-Hello!

How you doing?

Are you alright?

Oh, it's so lovely to see you!

-Oh, do come in.

-Thank you.

-Please come in.

-Thank you very much.

[Davina] Thanks for the tea.

You're most welcome.

So, I mean, it's been a mystery, hasn't it?

It has been, um...

It's never left me, because I could never find any answers.

I saw him as a baby on the sofa, and I ne-- and he went.

I never saw him again.

And I touched him.

And I would just like to reach out to him with my arms outstretched, as I did.

Just to say, "Hello."

Well, you can.

'Cause your sibling's been found.

Okay.

[laughs] Oh, wow!

Well, that's-- it's a miracle.

[Davina] It is.

-Would he want to see me?

-Yes.

-He does?

-[whispering] Yeah.

It's quite-- it's quite a story.

-Oh!

-But it's okay, it's a good one.

He had a very happy adoption.

-Oh, good.

-A really happy adoption.

Oh, good.

But I'm gonna tell you something, and it's going to come as a surprise.

It's nothing bad, it's nothing bad.

It's just gonna be a surprise.

He's sort of lived with a secret of his own that he never really felt right... -Oh!

-...in, um, his man's body.

He always felt that he was a woman.

And so, made the transition nearly a decade ago.

-Wow!

-And, I mean... -That's really brave.

-It is really brave.

-And changed his name to Debbie.

-Oh, wow!

So, basically, Debbie... -I've got a sister!

-You've got a sister.

You've got a sister.

And I know Debbie was really scared about you finding that out.

Oh, was she?

She doesn't have to worry at all.

'Cause it really doesn't matter.

It's just to know that person, no matter what body they've got.

You have no idea what that will mean to her.

It really, really is wonderful.

[laughs] That's fantastic.

-I've got a picture.

-Have you?

Yeah.

Do you want to see?

I would love to see.

You ready?

Oh!

Oh, my goodness.

[Davina] What do you see?

[Vanda] I see a lot like my mum.

Oh, I just think it's lovely!

I was looking for the baby, and at that time, I-- I never knew if the baby was-- had been born a girl or a boy, 'cause there was no indication.

So, although I thought I had a brother, I've always wanted a sister.

Well, there you go.

Debbie's gonna be very pleased about that.

I've always wanted a sister.

And now, I've got one.

[peaceful music playing, birds chirping] [upbeat music playing, birds chirping] Today, Vanda will meet her sister, Debbie, for the first time in over 50 years.

-Hi!

-Hi, Davina!

[laughs] Hello!

So excited!

How you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Are you?

-My heart is so nervous.

-Oh, well, follow me, follow me.

Thank you.

[seagulls calling] Debbie has returned to Lowestoft, where she was born and where Vanda last saw her as a baby.

-[Nicky] Debbie.

-Hello.

Here we are.

-[Debbie] The day has come.

-Yeah.

-Let's go meet your sister.

-Let's go.

-[laughing] Let's go!

-[laughing] Let's go!

[Nicky] So, what have you been thinking about since I last saw you?

-Really, really, I'm happy now.

-Are you?

Yeah, and I'm gonna grab her and hold her and squeeze her.

And-- and I'm not gonna let her go.

I'm still a little bit nervous, you know, because, uh, I don't know what to expect.

But I'm okay.

[Nicky] It's a big step.

[Debbie] It is, yeah.

[Davina] How do you feel about this choice that she's made, now that you've had some time to let it all sink in?

-I feel really proud of her.

-Yeah.

[Vanda] I just want to give her hug, 'cause I wasn't able to the last time I saw her.

Aw.

The sisters are meeting at a hotel just outside Lowestoft.

So, you're going to meet Debbie just in there.

-Okay?

Good luck.

-Thank you.

[laughs] [Davina] Mm-mm-mm... -Thank you so much.

- [kiss] [whispers] Good luck.

[Vanda] Thank you.

[peaceful music playing] [Nicky] You okay?

You're gonna meet Vanda in that barn over there.

She'll be waiting for you.

-Is she there?

-Mm-hmm.

Oh, great.

Anyway, thanks-- thanks for everything.

-Good luck.

-Yeah, thanks for everything.

-Go see your sister.

-Okay, thank you.

-She's waiting for you.

-Bye, then.

Bye.

[suspenseful music playing] [Vanda] Debbie!

Debbie!

Oh, baby.

Oh, thank you so much!

Come and sit down, come and sit.

Let me hold your hands.

-Oh, you look lovely!

-Oh, thank you.

You do.

You look really lovely.

I loved your photo, 'cause I thought, "She's really lovely and happy and smiley."

-Debbie, I'm so proud of you.

-So am I, so am I. I'm so very proud of the woman you've become.

-You look beautiful.

-Thank you.

'Cause all I wanted to know was that you've been alright and that you'd had a happy childhood and up-- -Yeah, and upbringing.

-Yeah.

Yeah, a lovely upbringing with my parents.

Oh.

And they brought me up as a boy.

But I knew deep down inside that I was-- I wanted to be a girl.

-Well, you were so brave.

-Yeah.

Really brave.

And I-- I'm just in full admiration of how true to yourself you've been.

And Mum would be so proud of you as well, Debbie.

It's just so incredible seeing my sister for the first time.

[voiceover] It felt like those 50-odd years just melted away.

I just thought you lost that little baby I'll never, ever know.

[Vanda] Come on, now.

[Debbie exhales sharply] Vanda, I love you.

I'm feeling overjoyed.

Overjoyed.

I think she's just a wonderful person.

You've been loved from a distance.

You've always been here.

My mascara will run.

Oh, I know, that's a problem, isn't it?

[laughs] Oh, I know, that's always a problem.

No, it hasn't.

My hopes are that we'll just get closer and closer.

[Debbie] We'll do things together, shopping, and stuff like that, and walk down the high street together as sisters.

[Vanda] I've put to rest the big secret that Mum carried.

I just feel that we can all move on.

[Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family," a woman who wants to thank her birth mother for the impossible choice sh e made when she was a baby...

I'd love to be able to see her and say, "You did the right thing.

Here I am."

...and a man desperate to make up for a missed opportunity nearly 60 years ago.

I could have met my mother... but I didn't.

[peaceful music playing]