[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?

[woman] When I found out Mary was deaf, I worried how I would communicate.

[woman] I couldn't really get my mind around it.

I had an older brother.

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

[man] I just wanted to know where I'm from.

And by golly do I know where I'm from now.

You made it!

[Davina] This week, we catch up with three families separated by extraordinary circumstances.

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

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

But has the reunion been everything they expected?

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

[dramatic music playing] When Marion and James began their search, they had no idea it would set in motion a chain of events that would one day save their son's life.

Their story began nearly 18 months ago as a first for Long Lost Family.

A divorced couple who'd come together to search for their eldest son.

-Hello!

-Hello there!

Even though we're divorced, we're always gonna be a family.

But there's one of us missing.

You look so young there, the pair of you.

-Even there!

-Yeah.

He is our son.

He's missed out on a complete family, of a mum and dad and two sisters.

[Davina] Marion Williams and James McDonnell met in South London when they were seven years old.

I think virtually every day after school we used to play here.

I used to see her all the time, and then when I was 15, asked her out on a date.

[Marion] We were really, really in love.

But just a year into their relationship, Marion discovered she was pregnant.

It was panic.

Well, what we gonna do?

[James] My father was outraged.

He kept saying to me, "Shame on you, shame on you."

In August 1970, Marion gave birth to a baby boy they named Andy.

[James] I would just sit there for hours just staring at him and holding him.

Even though I was only young, the bond was so strong.

Marion took Andy to stay with her mum who lived in this council house in Romford with her partner and four young children.

[Marion] And my bed was in that corner.

And his cot was next to my bed.

I thought that we were gonna stay here and everything was gonna be okay.

Marion cared for her son for three months.

Then, one day, the council complained that the house was overcrowded.

The council said either I've got to go and take the baby with me, or we'll all have to leave.

And I couldn't see my mum and my brothers and sisters thrown out of their home.

Marion and James had no choice but to give Andy up for adoption.

I remember sitting on the bed that morning, putting all his bits into bags.

[sniffles] And trying to hug him as much as possible before they took him.

Broke our hearts.

He's gone.

Grieving the loss of their son, the teenagers continued their relationship.

Two years later, Marion discovered that she was pregnant again.

[Marion] This time we were determined that no one was gonna take our child away.

As they were now over the age of 18, Marion and James secretly married without their parents' consent.

The couple went on to have a second daughter before they divorced and both remarried.

But they never stopped thinking about their son.

If he finds out that we did go on to have two children, I'd worry that he might feel resentful.

[Marion] He's still our son, and we want to have him back in our family.

[Nicky] We started searching for Andy and after two months, discovered he'd been adopted by a couple in Essex and that he was now called Simon Day.

Eventually we were able to track him down to Torquay, Devon.

-[Nicky] Simon?

-Hello.

I met Simon to break the unusual news that in his case, it wasn't just his mother who'd come looking.

What was the initial feeling when you found out that Marion was looking for you?

I just couldn't believe it.

I'd also spent a long time trying to find her.

-Did you?

-Just to let her know that I'm happy.

I've had a good childhood, and I hope she was happy and fine.

Well, it's not just your birth mother who's looking for you, it is also your birth father, James.

I wasn't expecting that.

Does that mean they're still together?

They did go on to get married.

Mm-hmm.

They're no longer still together.

But they're very much together in their efforts to find you.

Knowing that they got married, Marion and James are really worried that's going to be really difficult news for you.

I'm really happy that they were there to support each other.

That's your birth mother.

That's Marion.

Oh, my goodness.

Hello, Marion.

After all these years, to finally see what she looks like.

That's James.

Oh, wow.

I can't believe how much I look like him.

It's amazing.

I don't think there's any mistaking where I came from.

Thank you so much.

Aagh!

Come here!

Come here.

[Simon] Thank you so, so much.

[Davina] I met Marion and James at their daughter's house to tell them the good news that their son had been found.

It's so lovely that you're here together.

-We were only children really.

-Yeah.

-And we had no choice, did we?

-Oh, no, we had no choice.

But it still doesn't get away from the fact that, that we done that.

-We gave him away.

-Yeah.

We've always worried about what he would think.

-Well, you can tell him 'cause we've found him.

-[gasps] -You've found him?

-Yeah.

Oh, you're joking.

-Is he okay?

-He's really good.

-Really?

-[James] Is he?

-That's wonderful.

-Oh, bless you.

That's all we ever wanted.

-Okay?

-Mm-hmm.

He's called Simon.

When he found out from Nicky that both of you were looking, it was such a shock.

But he is really thrilled.

Oh!

That's fantastic news.

[gasps] Oh, my God!

-That's our Andy.

-Yeah.

[sniffles] Or now Simon.

[James] All these years of wondering, wanting, feeling shameful what we did, it's just a wonderful feeling.

I still can't believe I'm just sitting here looking at my son.

I cannot wait to see him.

It is rare for us to be able to reunite a mother and a father with their child, but ten days later Marion and James travelled to Torquay to meet Simon.

-Hello.

-Oh, my God!

Long time coming.

[Marion] Wonderful to see you.

-Come here, you.

-[James] Simon.

Come here.

Let's sit down.

We've got so much to talk about.

I can't believe it's happening.

There's always been a part of us missing.

-Always.

-[James] All through the years, our biggest burden was to try and explain to you, you know, the reasons why we had to give you up for adoption.

-We were just too young.

-We couldn't keep you.

It was just so cruel.

We thought, would you resent the fact of what happened?

No resentment at all.

It makes me immensely happy that you stuck by each other.

It really does.

I know, my son.

-[chuckles] -My son!

It's now nearly a year since Marion, James and Simon were reunited.

And although making up for lost time has been a priority, there's also been some vitally important family matters to discuss.

Marion makes frequent trips to visit Simon in Torquay.

I never tire of this view.

It's amazing.

How many times have we been in here now?

-I'd say about eight.

-Hmm.

[Marion] I always remember him as a little baby.

So to actually see the man that he's grown into is quite awesome.

And I'm very proud of him.

It was as if we'd always known each other.

And I really didn't think it was possible that you could have that connection that strong, that quickly.

But it was instantaneous.

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

Simon also pays regular visits to South London to see his father, James.

-Hiya!

-Hi, Simon!

-How you doing?

-Very well, thanks.

My face lights up when I see Simon.

It's strange to say, but it just feels normal now.

It's hard to believe you're actually here, sitting in the kitchen.

[Simon] As if we've known each other for years and years.

It really is ridiculous how much we have in common.

The way we talk, mannerisms.

I'm like a mini him.

This is a nice one of my father.

[Simon] And we've all got the same nose.

[James] Same nose, yeah.

There is absolutely no question you're my dad.

[Davina] But building a relationship with his son wasn't the only reason James was so desperate to find him.

He could have passed Simon a potentially fatal hereditary illness.

I knew Simon would have a big risk of having the disease as well.

I was so worried.

I had to tell him before it was too late.

James McDonnell and his son, Simon, have been back in each other's lives for nearly a year.

But as well as making up for lost time, there was one vital piece of information that James was desperate to share with Simon.

In 2012, James had an emergency quintuple heart bypass.

[Simon] That looks quite soon after 'cause you've still got all the wires.

[James] Yeah, three days afterwards.

James had a severe heart condition.

And what's more, the potentially fatal disease was hereditary.

I did have two uncles, I had a cousin of 43, and my father, all of them had a heart attack and, um, died instantly.

They didn't get a chance.

So I knew it was so important to find you.

One of the first things you said to me was that I was a ticking time bomb.

Yeah, that's right.

In fact, Simon had already had problems with his health.

Me and my father...

I'd had a heart attack and a partial stroke.

But I was okay.

I had no idea just how serious it was.

But James knew the reality.

[James] I immediately went cold with fear.

I realized I had to act quickly to get him to hospital.

He persuaded Simon to come to London and visit a specialist.

[Simon] I had severe coronary heart disease in four arteries.

They were almost completely blocked.

[James] They said that if he did not have bypass surgery, he would be dead within a matter of weeks.

It was terrifying.

Within a couple of hours, I was in hospital.

I honestly thought, this is it, my time's up.

Simon had a quadruple heart bypass the next day.

[James] I was so worried then that I was too late.

I had found my son and then literally two to three months later, I could lose him, he could be gone.

I couldn't sleep that night.

I was just so worried about him.

I woke up early the next morning, and I went to hospital and he woke up.

I knew he was safe, he was alive.

We had found him in time.

[Simon] The first thing I remember was seeing James in the chair just opposite me.

And his look in his eye, I just knew how much this meant to him.

That was the defining moment in our relationship.

Four months later, Simon has made a full recovery.

Going through this has changed everything 'cause I shouldn't be here.

For someone who's adopted, it's really important to know the family medical history.

Had I have had that, I would have been treated very differently and much sooner.

And this isn't important just for me, it's also important for my daughters.

It ripples throughout the entire family chain.

[James] I did feel such a responsibility to find Simon and to pass that information onto him.

If I had left it even six months later, Simon wouldn't be alive.

I think it made our bond together even stronger.

[Marion] It's not just a second chance, now we've got a third chance.

He's not going anywhere.

[laughs] Not ever again.

When we reunite family members, we are never sure what's going to happen next.

Are they going to get on or will they never see each other again?

Well, our second story features Ray Jones, who came to us in 2016 looking for answers about his past.

Seventy-four-year-old retired farmer Ray has nine children and 12 grandchildren.

But his own beginnings were a mystery.

The question is, who am I and where do I come from?

Ray grew up in care, knowing nothing about his background.

[Ray] Here we are.

And there's the castle.

At the age of 2 he was sent to Comlongon Castle in Scotland, then a children's home, run by the charity Barnardo's.

I have absolutely no memories of my family.

I didn't know what love was because I never received it.

I mean, I was cared for and people cared about me.

But I never had a real sense of being loved.

It was only in his forties that Ray contacted Barnardo's to see if he could find out anything about his family.

My mother was Myra Fon Kathleen Jones.

Ray also discovered he had a half-brother who had stayed with his mother.

[Ray] Arthur John Jones, that's the only thing I know about him.

Ray began searching for his family.

Barnardo's files have been accessible since 1995.

But it wasn't until just over a year ago that Ray asked to see his entire care record for the first time.

What he found turned his life upside down.

I discovered my mother had written a letter in 1957, when I was 15 years old, trying to have me back.

Was a... quite a big shock.

This is what she wrote.

"Dear sir or madam.

I am so glad Raymond is well and I wonder if you would like to hear from me after all these years.

I have always wanted to have him home with me.

I only hope as he gets older he will understand what a heartache I have been through."

I never received this letter at all.

Notes in Ray's file state that Barnardo's asked Ray whether he wanted contact with his family, and at the time he said he was happy where he was.

But Ray has no memory of this.

She obviously loved me.

Had I known about this at the time, I would have met her.

Never got the chance.

Ray knows his mother is unlikely to be alive.

So now all his hopes are pinned on finding his brother, Arthur.

[Ray] This may be the last chance I have to know who my family was.

[Nicky] When we began our search, we soon discovered that as Ray expected, Myra had passed away in 1975.

But after weeks of scouring public records, we did find Ray's brother, Arthur, living in Knowsley, just outside Liverpool City Centre.

-Arthur?

-Boy, how we doing?

-Nicky Campbell.

-Nice to see ya.

Wanna come in?

[Nicky] Love to.

How was it when you found out Ray was looking for you?

Well, quite, quite amazing really, even though I know, or knew, I had a brother named Ray.

You knew?

When me mum was quite ill in hospital, she said, "Ray's been in."

And I said to her, you know, "Who's Ray?"

She said, "Well, Ray was your older brother."

She was convinced that he had been to the hospital, which... she believed that.

Yeah.

I think she was desperate really.

Because she always wanted her children together.

And she never managed to do that.

'Cause a lot of them were put in foster homes because she couldn't cope.

-How many children did she have, Arthur?

-She had 13.

I was the lucky one 'cause I was a weakling.

She always kept me close to, you know, look after me.

But she loved all her children.

We struggled when we were kids, really, for, for food and stuff like that.

And she'd get us by on what we had.

So she tried everything to get her children?

Yeah, she tried to keep all of us together.

And it was hard.

Too hard a life for a woman.

She was a very loving mother.

All this is exactly what Ray has wanted to know for decades.

It's just a shame really, it's a damn shame.

-It's heartbreaking, isn't it?

-Yeah.

'Cause he's 74, and I'm 72, and I've never met him.

[Nicky] There he is.

Oh, God.

How do you feel about meeting him?

I'll be made up, absolutely made up.

[Davina] We let Ray know away from the cameras that his mother had sadly passed away.

But I went to see him to tell him that we'd finally found his younger brother, Arthur.

Thank you for talking to me.

I'm sorry that we couldn't have brought you better news.

I would just like to learn more about who my mother was, what she was like, you know, what sort of person she was.

Well, you are gonna get that.

Because we have found your brother, Arthur.

Have you?

He said Myra's life was very, very tough.

Oh, Ray, I'm sorry.

It's not fair, it's just not bloody fair.

Not just for me but for her.

Well, there's so much that Arthur wants to tell you about your mum.

I know, there's just so much I want to ask him as well.

[Davina] This is your brother.

[Ray] Well, I'll be blowed.

-Can see the similarity.

-Yeah.

[laughs] Thank you.

Two days later, the brothers met in a pub in the center of Liverpool not far from where Arthur lived with his mother.

[Arthur] How are ya?

Hello, Ray.

How are you doing, mate?

-Alright.

And you?

-Nice to see ya.

Come here.

It's been a long time.

[exhales sharply] Alright.

Hey.

You wear a leather jacket as well, Ray.

-[laughs] Yeah, right.

-Hey, sit down, love.

Eh?

You do look like me, don't ya?

-Yeah, right, yeah.

-Just a couple of years older, I think.

-It's so... -Well, come on then.

-Questions.

-I know.

So, what would you say she was like as a person?

-Was she happy?

-She was a very loving mother.

But she was never happy, and I don't mind saying that.

-No... -She was never happy.

She struggled all the time.

I can tell you now she struggled.

She loved all her children.

Every one of them.

-So how many children did she have then?

-About 13.

-Bloody hell.

-They were in homes.

-Oh, were they?

-Oh, aye, yeah.

And what do the others think about the others?

Well, they think it's quite amazing.

-It's 70 years.

-Almost a lifetime, isn't it?

I've got a picture if you wanna see it?

Here, here it is.

-Our mother.

-Oh, wow.

[Arthur] Yeah.

[Ray] Yeah, that's the first time I've ever seen her.

Oh...

In the months that followed their meeting, Ray's new family arranged a giant get-together.

Ray travelled up to Southport with 18 of his own children and grandchildren to meet over a hundred members of his huge, new, extended family.

[Ray] It was really strange for me being surrounded by so many people who are actually related to me.

But everyone was really, really friendly and welcoming.

It really was a good day.

The big family party was a great success.

But it's now been almost two years since Ray and Arthur were first reunited.

And not everything's worked out as expected.

[woman] This train is for Liverpool Central.

[Ray] The problem with searching for long lost family is that, well, you always hope initially that it will be like a fairytale, but, of course, it's not.

[Davina] In 2016, Ray Jones was reunited with his half-brother Arthur.

[Ray] I was really looking forward to meeting Arthur, but it wasn't what I thought it would be.

I assumed that simply because I was related to him, there would be some connection.

But I didn't feel anything.

And I don't think he felt a connection with me either.

Which is really sad, I think.

We reached out to Arthur but this isn't something he wants to talk about on camera.

Fortunately, Ray has continued to build relationships with some of his other siblings.

-Buddy!

-Ray!

How you doing, bud?

-I'm alright.

You?

-Good to see you.

Yeah, great.

He's become particularly close to his brother Andy and his sister Myra.

-Hiya, Ray.

-Hello, Myra.

Are you okay?

Meeting Ray was quite emotional, really.

He felt like my older brother, yeah.

I heard that there was 13 children, I knew that.

But I didn't know where everybody was.

So at first it was weird, you know.

Where did Ray live?

And how did it happen?

But he's got the Jones traits.

And I feel as though he's just part of the family.

[Ray] It was just nice to meet Andy and Myra.

I do have a connection with them.

And that's something I've never experienced before.

[Myra] There we are.

There's our mother.

She was tall.

-[Andy] About the same height as you there, Ray.

-[Myra] Yeah.

But as occasionally happens when families are reunited, Ray's also been faced with some painful truths about his family's past.

[Myra] And there's mother again.

That was quite early on.

Myra struggled with poverty for most of her life.

Many of her children spent time in care.

[Andy] I'm third in the family.

When we were kids, you didn't always get three meals a day.

And, uh, you'd have holes in your shoes.

From the age of ten, I was in care.

Most of the siblings had a difficult childhood.

I think maybe Ray thought it was only him that was stuck in a home.

So he couldn't quite get his head round the fact that we'd all been in similar circumstances.

And we were scattered all over the place.

[Ray] Suddenly finding out the reality, it was really difficult.

I feel sorry for the fact that a lot of my siblings went through the same thing.

Myra, the second youngest child, spent more time with their mother.

There's me.

18 months.

[Myra] The last four of us were brought up by my mother and father till I was 13 and she died.

I think that was probably the best stable part of her life really, to be honest.

To me, she was a good mum.

But I think I see her differently maybe than other siblings.

See those two over there?

They're golden eyes.

Uncovering the realities of his mum's life and the difficulties she went through hasn't been easy for Ray.

[Ray] I don't feel I can have any thoughts about who my mother was because I'm getting a different perspective from each different sibling.

[Myra] I know it is difficult for Ray.

But regardless of all our different experiences, we are still a family.

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

But some things are harder to embrace than the others.

Ray's still dealing with everything he's discovered.

But he is glad that he's found his family.

Meeting my family has definitely changed me.

-Cheers!

-Good health.

You can't replace lost years.

So all you can do is, is to look to the future and try and build friendship between us.

[Myra] The more I've got to know him, the closer I feel to him.

I'm glad he did come looking.

It hasn't been an easy process, but I wouldn't want to miss it.

Our final story features Laura Aker, who never imagined when she came to us last year that her search would take her on a 5,000-mile journey across the globe.

Laura was desperate to find her Nigerian father, who had promised one day he'd come back for her.

I don't think a father could ever forget a child.

So why did he not come back?

-Are we gonna do some painting?

-Mother of three Laura grew up in Kirkcaldy with her Scottish mother and the man she thought was her father.

[Laura] I was the oldest.

-Wow!

-[Laura] Wow!

[Laura] It was a happy childhood.

But when she reached her teens, Laura began to wonder if he treated her differently?

[Laura] It just made me ask the question to my mum, "Is he my real dad?"

And she went, "No."

I was completely shocked.

I remember my thinking, who is my real dad?

Laura's mum, Susan, revealed that Laura's real father was called Andrew Olum Ekpang.

Andrew was from Nigeria and had met Susan when he was in Scotland training with the navy.

[Laura] That's my dad.

They met in a nightclub and she fell in love with him.

Susan became pregnant, but before Laura was born, Andrew's training came to an end and he had to return to Nigeria.

Andrew wrote to Susan promising that he would come back to meet his daughter.

"Dear Susan.

Tell Laura daddy loves her very much.

I will come to see Laura and you.

Tell her that she will definitely see me one day then in Scotland.

I promise that."

Why did he not come back?

What happened to the promise?

Now, nearly 40 years later, Laura's determined to find him.

[Laura] I want to know that it wasn't just meaningless words.

I feel I'm ready now to find him.

[Nicky] We began our search for Andrew in Nigeria but drew a blank.

Finally, we managed to track down his son, Nten, by trawling social media.

He told us that Andrew, known as Andy, was living in a village in rural Nigeria.

Thanks very much.

We arranged for Laura's father and half-brother to travel to the UK.

But a week before they were due to travel, Andy collapsed and had to be hospitalized.

It was touch and go whether he would be well enough to fly.

After three weeks, Andy's doctor gave the all-clear.

Nten?

Andy?

How are you doing?

-I'm good, thank you.

-Good to see you.

Sir, a great pleasure to meet you.

It's a pleasure also.

-Welcome back.

-Thank you very much.

-Shall we go?

-Okay.

I know you've been unwell, but you made it.

-Well, I had to.

-Yeah.

And it is really wonderful and great.

My father was very worried he couldn't make it.

But he told me even if it's the last thing he will do in his life, he will do it.

How did you feel when you found out that Laura was looking for you?

I felt terribly happy and thanked my God.

-Yeah.

-I have... always been thinking about her.

Yeah.

And how do you feel about the fact that you haven't been a part of her life?

I used to be sad.

Those moments, I sit round my children and Laura is not here.

Whenever we gather together, he said that someone is missing.

And the person who's missing is as important as the people present.

It's always been his dream to see Laura.

Did you think about ever coming back to Scotland to see her?

Financially impossible for me.

That's all that has been keeping me away from her.

-Yeah.

Times, times were hard... -Times were hard.

-...with money, yeah?

-So he couldn't get the money to come back.

So this is big for him.

[Andrew] I am very happy I am here for Laura.

I have a photograph of your daughter.

[Andrew] Wow!

Wonderful.

I'm seeing her for the first time in this photograph.

Wow!

Oh!

[Davina] I travelled to Scotland to tell Laura the news about her father.

It's such a unique story because you've got this letter... -Mm-hmm.

-...from your dad.

It's the only thing I've got to kind of hold onto.

What are your worries about looking for him?

That he doesn't want to be found.

Or he's kind of written me out of his life.

Well, he hasn't written you out of his life, because we've found your dad.

Really?

Really?

-What did he say?

-He's thrilled.

That's so good to hear.

I'm really happy.

So your dad lives in the south of Nigeria.

He has 12 children.

-Really?!

-Yes.

Wow!

Are you joking?

-No.

-Twelve?

Yes.

We found him via his eldest son.

-His name's Nten.

-Mm-hmm.

And they've always all known about you.

That's amazing.

That's my dad.

[Davina] And he wants to keep that promise that he made to you all those years ago and come and see you here in Scotland.

And Nten's going to come with him.

I'm so pleased, and it's just an opportunity to make up for the time that we've lost.

[laughs] We arranged for Laura to meet her father at a hotel close to her home in Kirkcaldy.

Hello, Dad.

-I love you.

-I love you too.

Oh, my God!

At very long last.

Yes.

Nearly 40 years.

Nten?

It's been a long journey coming here.

Yeah.

I'm so grateful you brought dad all this way.

-You mean so much to us.

-Thank you.

-And you kept your promise, Dad.

-[Nten] Yeah.

Said he was going to come to look for you.

It's a real big deal for me because I have set my eyes on Laura.

And I really love you.

Me too.

Four months later, even though there's nearly 5,000 miles between them, Laura's enjoying having her new family in her life.

[Laura] God, I'm so like my dad.

In the mirror, like getting ready or doing my hair, when I look back at the reflection, I see who I am now.

I feel part of a family again.

It's just an amazing feeling.

Hah-hah!

[laughs] I'm fine, brother.

[Davina] Laura regularly video calls her brother Nten.

But it's much harder to speak to her father, Andy.

[Laura] It's difficult with my dad because you can't video call.

His hearing's not that great.

I just want to phone him and say, "Hi, Dad!

How are you?"

But it's not as easy as that.

How is dad's health?

How has it been?

Yeah.

Andy's health has remained a huge worry.

[Laura] When my dad went back home, he had a couple of bad seizures and he was really unwell.

He's actually a lot older than I thought.

And he's not as in great health as I thought he would be.

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

Well, brother, tell dad I said hi, send him my love.

[Laura] There's not a lot of time left.

I need to just go and see him and be with him one more time.

It's now been four months since Laura Aker met her Nigerian father, Andy, for the first time.

But since their reunion, Andy's health has been a constant worry.

Laura's decided to go to Nigeria as soon as possible.

[daughter] Do you wanna take any woollies or that?

[Laura] Woollies?

Like woolly clothes?

-[daughter] Yeah.

-[laughing] No.

It's really, really hot.

Winter, winter, winter, winter, winter.

That's a definite no.

[daughter] This trip means a lot to my mum.

It's important to see him before she doesn't get the chance again.

It's not only meeting her dad but, like, seeing where she's from.

-I wish I was going with you.

-[Laura] I know.

And just like their culture and that, like what they wear.

Just the colors, and it's totally different from here.

It will be good, eh?

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

-Have a nice time.

-I will do, thank you.

I need to make this trip.

Let my father see me in his home country, at least once in his lifetime.

A world away from Kirkcaldy in Nigeria, Andy's made the five-hour journey from his village to meet Laura at Nten's home in the city.

I've come to Calabar to see my daughter.

I feel so excited that she has travelled all the way to Nigeria.

[Nten] The visit of Laura, it means a whole lot to us as a family.

And I'm happy to introduce her to all of her siblings.

I'm very excited.

Nten has brought together a massive welcoming party of new family and friends to surprise Laura at the airport.

Everyone is dressed in red as a mark of celebration.

[cheering] Remarkably, all eight of Laura's sisters have made it to Calabar to meet her for the first time.

The welcoming that I received, I just didn't expect it at all.

Everyone felt like my family, absolutely everyone.

You're welcome.

I am grateful today.

Laura is one of us.

I am very happy.

It's like a dream come true.

Nten is taking Laura back to his home so she can spend time with her father again.

[Nten] Welcome home.

Everybody here has come to welcome you.

[laughter] [singing welcome song] [cheering] I am relieved to see my dad again.

I don't know how much time I've got left.

So just makes me realize how lucky and grateful I am.

The journey has been worth it, 100%.

I'm so happy to see you again, Dad, really happy.

And I'm happy receiving you here in Nigeria.

I'm so glad your health is good and everyone is happy and I can see all my family.

[Andrew] Laura is very special to me.

It means a lot that she has come all the way to see me again.

I feel so happy to have all my family together.

At the end of the day, I'm fulfilled that we can gather to celebrate our sister who was lost but now found.

[Laura] I'll never be separated from my family again.

Maybe I'll come back again sooner than I thought.

[Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family: What Happened Next"... we catch up with three women whose lives have changed in ways they could never have expected.

[woman] That is my family right there.

Me mum and me mum.

It has felt incredibly natural.

The minute we met, we recognized that we were family.

[peaceful music playing]