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

[man] I'm his son.

I need to be able to say the word "Dad" to him.

[woman] I have to find my brother.

I just can't let it go.

I just can't let him go.

[woman] Three children kept together and one taken away.

So, where is he?

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

But that's where we step in... We've found him.

Really?

Oh!

-So, we do know who my dad is.

-We do.

...offering a last chance to people desperate for help.

-That's your dad.

-Oh, my God!

I know I'm crying, but I'm so happy.

[Nicky] With searches taking us to surprising places, we've unearthed hidden secrets, solving family mysteries and finding people that nobody else could trace.

[speaking Spanish] [Nicky] Christina's father?

This is-- this is wonderful.

[all crying] [Davina] And although the answers aren't always what people expect, we resolve questions that have haunted entire lives.

I only know that she's not dead because of you.

-You do look like Dad.

-Oh, do I?

You do!

[laughs] This week, two stories of new beginnings-- a woman separated from her mother because of a cruel twist of fate... Everything went against her.

I just need to know what became of her.

Where did she go?

...and a searcher desperate to know if their birth mother will accept them.

What about the news that the little baby boy you gave up is now a daughter?

[dramatic music ends] Our first search is on behalf of a woman whose birth mother gave her up for adoption in tragic circumstances.

[woman] Just from that car accident, she lost absolutely everything-- no marriage... no home... no family.

It was all just taken away from her.

[mysterious music playing] 52-year-old mother of two Maria Roberts lives in Penzance, near to her daughter, Jodie.

Hello.

She's lived in the southwest of England all her life.

[Jodie] Oh, you look really cute here.

You're so little.

Little Mum.

[laughs] Aw, so sweet.

When she was a few months old, Maria was adopted by Eileen and Jack Finnelly.

[Maria] I loved my mum and dad to bits.

I always knew I was adopted.

I was always told as well that I was chosen, so I was special.

Your eyes are lovely.

Look how blue they are.

[Maria] I remember my dad saying to me that they went into the room at the orphanage, and I was in a cot standing up, and could just see my eyes over the top and chubby cheeks, and he just said, "Got to have her."

[laughs] [Jodie] These are lovely, aren't they?

[Maria] Yeah, they're my favorites.

[Jodie] They're really nice.

Maria's adoptive father passed away in 2000, and shortly afterwards, her mother died too.

[Maria] Once they'd gone, I didn't know where I belonged.

I know it sounds really daft, but I remember thinking I wasn't "orphaned," but that's how I felt.

And I still feel like that sometimes.

I just felt so lost and alone, and I wanted to find my birth mother.

Maria's adoptive parents had always shared with her the information they had about her birth mother.

My mother was Gilda Constantino, and she was only 22 years old.

She was Italian.

One letter reveals how an incident in Italy, before Maria was born, changed the course of Gilda and Maria's lives.

It says here my father was also Italian.

They were to be married, but unfortunately for my mother and myself, that he was killed in a car accident while she was pregnant with me.

You read this letter over and over again, sort of doesn't sink in.

It's just really... hard.

It's just an awful, awful situation to suddenly lose your husband-to-be, and then it says the parents knew nothing of the pregnancy.

So, she was quite alone in this.

Everything that was set out in front of her was just-- just gone.

Just gone.

[melancholy music playing] Gilda's situation was made even more difficult by the culture she was living in.

In Italy in the 1960s, the Catholic Church held enormous sway, and attitudes towards unmarried mothers were often deeply conservative.

It would have brought shame, not only on herself, but on her family as well.

Would imagine that she had no choice.

Gilda came to England to have her baby, and in May 1965, Maria was born in Exeter.

Before she was adopted, she was baptized at this Catholic church.

I'd like to think that my mother had some solace to know that I was gonna be brought up in the Catholic faith.

I was baptized on the 10th of July, 1965.

I was named Antonella Lualda Maria Constantino.

And it also shows my mother's name.

Seeing our names together there, side-by-side, it feels as if we were still united at that point.

It's nice, it's a good feeling.

The whole thing is tragic.

Everybody's lives changed.

Had that car accident not happened, you know, I would have grown up with Gilda in Italy, a completely different life.

I lost that life.

She's my mother.

I just need to know, where did she go?

What became of her?

[fast-paced music playing] The last known location for Gilda was in Devon, where she'd given Maria up for adoption, so that's where we started our search.

But there was no trace of a Gilda Constantino living anywhere in the UK.

We suspected she'd gone back to her home, in Italy.

But with a population of around 60 million, we needed to narrow the search.

So we looked in Maria's adoption paperwork for clues.

Her records mentioned an Italian town called Casseni.

However, we couldn't find any town of this name in Italy.

So, we started playing around with the spelling of Casseni and came up with Cassino, a small town halfway between Rome and Naples.

Could this be Gilda's hometown?

It was our only lead, so we decided to turn to social media.

But we had to be cautious.

Maria's adoption papers stated that Gilda hadn't told her parents about her pregnancy.

Thank you.

It was vitally important that our search didn't expose a secret that she might still be keeping.

So, our team of specialist intermediaries launched a carefully-worded appeal for anyone who knew Gilda, without giving away the news that she had a daughter.

It didn't take long.

Several people came forward to say that they knew Gilda and her family.

And our hunch had been right-- Cassino was the town.

But there was a sting in the tail.

A family friend told us that Gilda had passed away just a year ago.

[church bells ringing] Tragically for Maria, it was too late.

Gilda had never married, had no children.

But she did have nephews and nieces.

One of them, Maria's older cousin, Silvana, has agreed to meet me and tell me as much as she can about her aunt.

-Buongiorno.

-Buongiorno, Silvana.

-Nicky.

-Come va?

Prego.

[Nicky] Grazie.

We've arranged for an interpreter to translate.

-How are you?

-Fine.

[both] Nice to meet you.

Silvana, thank you for seeing me.

I'm so sorry your aunt has passed away.

Grazie.

Did you know about Maria?

[asking the question in Italian] No.

How was it for you when you heard the news?

That's lovely to hear.

Grazie.

What was your relationship like with your aunt?

Do you have a photograph of Gilda?

[Nicky] Ah!

She looks so kind.

Do you have any photographs of when she was younger?

[Silvana] S ì.

-Era bellissima.

-[Nicky] Yeah, beautiful.

Bella, bella.

But you think she would have been happy you were going to meet her daughter?

I think it's really wonderful that you can tell Maria all about her mother.

She had a wonderful adoption, and a lovely mother and father who she loved very, very much.

I have a photograph of her.

There's Maria.

Bella.

You can't stop looking at her face.

So, do you feel a connection?

Do you want to-- to welcome her into the family?

[Davina] Before we tell Maria the news about her Italian family, we take on a remarkable search.

Often on Long Lost Family, people come to us at a major turning point in their lives, because it's only then that they feel ready to search for the person that's missing.

I want to find my birth mother.

I want to share my life with her.

But then, there's a risk that she doesn't want to meet me because my life is going along a different path.

I'm transitioning into a female.

43-year-old Francesca Barnes lives in Aldershot, where she works as a care assistant.

She was born in Southampton as a boy named Paul and adopted by parents Colin and Mary at six months old.

Mum and Dad.

They were wonderful.

I mean, "were," they still are.

[laughs] They still are wonderful.

They always have been.

They've loved me and cared for me.

I was a happy little boy.

I was really into cars and football.

And when I was about 10, my mum and my dad sat me down and just explained that they weren't my biological parents, and that I have another mum elsewhere.

My initial reaction was, "Oh, didn't she love me then?"

My mum very quickly turned around and said, "No-- She did love you, that's why she did it."

When Francesca was a teenager, her parents gave her a file with more information about her adoption.

I do have a letter describing my-- my mum, Norma Mackey, that she had an English mother and an American father, 5 foot 3 tall, with fair skin, blue eyes, and light brown hair.

The file revealed that the birth father was believed to be a married man, and that Norma was unable to support her child.

I try and put myself in her shoes.

In the circumstances at that time, I don't think she had much of a choice, but it must have been really upsetting for her.

Knowing about her birth mother's situation, Francesca became desperate to find her.

I wanted to tell her that I love her.

She did what was best for me, because she gave me a chance in life.

[sniffs] [crying] I want her to know that she shouldn't have any regrets over what she did.

[sniffing] And I want her to see the person that I've grown into.

Born and raised as a boy, Francesca realized she's transgender about 10 years ago.

She recently changed her name and began the long process of transitioning physically.

Over time, my body will start changing.

I want to live my life as a female.

That's how I feel I should have been, rather than who I was.

But Francesca knows that her change in gender will not just affect her, it would have an impact on her birth mother as well.

Given birth to a boy who's now living as a female, she might not want to meet me.

But for me, it's a risk worth taking.

I want to share my life with her.

It's just, now, I'd like a mother-daughter relationship.

[Nicky] We started our search by looking for a Norma Mackey in Southampton, the area where Francesca was born.

We found a record of her living in the city up to 2007, but there was no trace of a current address.

So, we tried our luck with social media, hoping for a breakthrough.

We found a recent post from a Norma Mackey on a professional networking site.

She'd returned to Southampton after a period living in the United States.

As we knew that Norma was half-American, this all made sense.

We'd found Francesca's birth mother.

We found an address for her mother, Norma, living in Southampton, but we had to tread incredibly carefully.

For anyone who's given up a child for adoption, being traced can be a hugely emotional experience.

The additional news that her son is transgender could be overwhelming for Norma.

With no idea how Norma might react, and desperate to secure the best possible outcome for Francesca, we were advised to tell Norma about Francesca's transition away from the cameras.

Now having let the news settle for a few days, I'm on my way to see Norma at her home.

[buzzer ringing] -Hi, Norma.

-Hello.

-I'm Nicky.

-Hello, Nicky.

-Nice to meet you.

-Oh, and lovely to meet you.

-Uh, please come in.

-Thank you.

[sighs] Thank you for having me.

So, when you found out that your child had come searching for you, what did that feel like?

Amazing.

It was totally amazing.

It was always in the back of my mind that, you know, this day would happen, and I've always thought I would be happy if he wanted to find me.

And what about the news that the little baby boy you gave up is now a daughter?

My heart melted.

It really did.

Um, I felt she was very brave to be able to go through all of that.

I just have to get into the mindset that he's now a she.

It's still the same person, and I'm hoping that, you know, when I meet her, I will love her.

So, all these years, did you think about Francesca?

Did you think about--?

Well, Paul, as you knew...

Absolutely.

Yes.

Because, deep down, I have a guilty feeling because of what I'd done.

What do you mean, because of what you'd done?

Gave him up.

Or gave her up.

I was 20 years old.

I didn't take the responsibility, if you like, of bringing him up.

But I wanted him to have a better upbringing than what I could give him.

Well, Francesca's parents explained that you did love her.

-Yeah.

-And you just did what you thought was the best for her.

Absolutely.

And so, ever since then, she has had such love and-- and respect for you.

-That's lovely.

-Mm.

It's just like a big weight being lifted off your shoulders, really.

You know, 'cause I just think about her all the time.

Mm-hmm.

-I've got a letter.

-Oh, my goodness.

"Dear Mum..." Aww.

"When I was told I was adopted, it did come as quite a shock, but I want you to know how much I love you.

I've had a very happy life with a lovely family who's always provided for me and brought me up to be the person I am today.

I am going through some changes, and I would love to have you in my life.

Love from Francesca."

That is absolutely beautiful.

Has she completed her transition?

No.

She realized she was transgender about 10 years ago, and in the last two years, she's been transitioning.

No, she's still got some ways to go.

-[Nicky] Mm.

-Mm-hmm.

She'd love for you to go on that journey with her and to... -Oh, I'd love to.

-...and to support her.

Yeah.

I feel privileged.

-Do you?

-Yes.

I can help Francesca with her transition.

It's a big major thing in her life.

It's a big major thing in my life.

And I can give her that support.

That is the most important thing to her.

Do you have any pictures?

[gasps] Oh, my goodness!

She's got my eyes.

Wow.

And she looks very happy there and contented there as well.

She really does.

Ah, I can't take my eyes off her.

[laughs] I really can't.

Is there any tiny little part of you that feels, "Where's my son"?

Actually-- no, in a way, because I wasn't part of that life of his.

And, to me, she is now the person who she really is.

-Yeah.

-So, no, I haven't lost a son.

But I've gained a daughter.

[Davina] In searching for her birth mother, Francesca knew she was taking a big risk.

But I hope the news I'm bringing her about Norma will put her mind at rest.

She desperately wants to find her, but she's also scared that Norma may not be able to accept her as a daughter.

She doesn't need to be.

Norma's so grateful that the child she gave up has come looking for her.

-Hi.

-Hello.

How are you doing?

You alright?

I'm very well, thank you.

How are you?

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to see you, too.

So, would you like to come in?

Yeah, thank you very much.

[Davina] Ah, well, thanks for talking to me.

Thank you.

So, finding your mum now, you're going through a lot.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, obviously, you're transitioning-- I-- I am.

There's always gonna be that element of sort of worry about whether she's-- agrees with it, whether she's happy about it, whether she supports it or not.

And that's a risk I believe is worth taking.

What would it mean to you for her to support it?

-It would mean a lot.

-Mm-hmm.

It would be amazing.

We've found her.

[gasps] What?!

You're kidding me.

[laughs] -No way!

-Yes.

-You've found her?

-Yeah.

[cries] Oh, God!

And when-- when she found out you'd had a good adoption and how you felt, she was so relieved.

And you know, you were worried maybe about looking for her, but what she said about your transitioning is that she's really proud of you.

[crying] I can't believe it.

You were her baby, but it wasn't like you were her baby boy.

She-- she can totally accept you as Francesca.

[cries] I had no idea how she was feeling.

I was always worried, because I-- you know, this is the path that I've, you know-- this is my life now.

This is who I believe I should be, you know, and I can't change that.

So, the fact that she has accepted it has just changed my whole life.

-I've got a letter from her.

-Really?

"Hello, my dearest Francesca.

When I was first told that you have been wanting to find me, I was elated.

All these years, you have been in my thoughts.

To know that you had a wonderful upbringing made me feel very happy.

I can't wait for the day that we finally meet each other.

With love, your Mum."

[sobbing] I've got a picture.

Have you?

Oh, my God!

[cries] This is your mum!

Oh, my God!

She just-- she looks like me a little bit.

[Davina] She really does.

[Francesca] She's got a lovely smile.

Oh, my God, this is my dream come true.

Thank you so much.

Maria Roberts came to us searching for her Italian birth mother, Gilda.

Sadly, we found out that Gilda had passed away just a year ago.

We've told Maria the news about her mum away from the cameras.

It's so devastating for Maria that she's not gonna get the chance to meet her birth mother.

But I do have some good news to bring her.

There's a whole family in Italy, and they are longing to get to know her.

-[Davina] Hi.

-Hello.

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, I'm good, thanks.

-It's lovely to meet you.

-And you too.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming.

Come in.

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

How have you been feeling?

Yeah, I felt disappointed, sad.

I didn't want for her to live her life unhappy that she'd had to have the baby and give it up for adoption just because of a car accident.

Well, I did want to give you a little bit more information about your mum.

She did go back home... -Right.

-...to Italy.

She went back to her family.

But she never had any more children.

You're joking.

[gasps] Oh, my God!

Mm.

I wonder why she never had any more.

Did she ever tell anybody, do you think?

You've got lots of Italian cousins.

-Really?

-Yeah.

But they didn't know.

So, you were a complete surprise.

Wow!

There is one in particular called Silvana.

Right.

And she was really, really close to your mum.

-Was she?

-Yeah.

She's given us a picture of your mum when she was a young girl.

I think she looks so like you.

Wow!

-So, that was my mum?

-That's your mum.

[laughs] It's amazing.

-She was attractive, wasn't she?

-Yeah, gorgeous.

[Maria] Aww.

I've got another one of her when she was a bit older, at 70.

Oh, my God!

Yeah, 'cause I can't see that one.

[Maria] Wow!

-We've got the same lips.

-Mm-hmm.

Definitely the same lips.

She's got such a smiley face.

I love these pictures.

I wonder if she ever thought about me.

This is just amazing, 'cause I never, ever, ever in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever see... [Davina] No.

...any pictures of her or anything, you know?

All these years, there's just nothing, and you just think, wow-- wow, wow, wow.

Gee.

Good grief.

So, I've got a picture of Silvana, -if you'd like to see?

-Oh, yes, please!

[Maria] Wow!

She looks lovely.

And she was with your mum in the final few days of her life.

That's nice to know that she had somebody like a daughter to her.

-[Davina] Surrogate daughter.

-Yeah.

-Aww.

-There's two letters in here.

One's in Italian, and we've translated that into English.

"Dear Maria, finding out that Gilda had a daughter knocked me head over heels with happiness.

We are so grateful, because it means a part of Aunt Gilda is still alive and still with us, and that part is you.

Aunt Gilda was a wonderful person, one of those people you meet and would never forget.

We are so thankful you have looked for our family-- your family now-- and we can't wait for the moment we can meet you.

With love, your cousin Silvana."

Aww.

What's nice is that she's got lots of information that she'd love to share with you.

[chuckles] [Maria] That's my family.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-That's my mum.

-Oh, my God!

Wow!

She never had any more children.

Oh, she didn't?

[Maria] But this is my cousin.

-[Jodie] Wow!

-Silvana.

[laughs] -[Jodie] That's so exciting!

-I know.

Aww.

[cheerful music playing] Three weeks after she heard the news about her Italian family, Maria and her daughter Jodie have traveled to Gilda's hometown of Cassino.

[Jodie] Hey, happy birthday.

-Oh, thank you very much.

-It's alright.

Oh, that's really lovely.

Thank you.

[Maria] Today is my birthday, and I'm actually gonna meet my family on the day that I was born.

Knowing that my mum is not around, meeting people that were really close to her means so much to me.

Maria is here to meet her older cousin Silvana for the first time.

[Silvana, speaking Italian] The cousins are meeting at a hotel in the hills just outside Cassino.

Thank you.

Have fun.

[Maria] There's a lot going through my head at the moment.

I'm feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

I was born all these years ago, you know, not in Italy, born in the UK, and then there's this family here that didn't even know that that had happened.

I just can't wait to see her.

[sentimental music playing] [whispers to herself] [Silvana] Oh!

It's okay.

[Silvana] Va tutto bene.

Are you okay?

Do you want to sit down?

It's okay.

It's okay.

-I'm here now.

-[laughs] I will be, I promise.

I promise.

Grazie.

And you were very close to my mother.

Yeah.

[Maria] Mm.

[Maria] Hearing Silvana talk about my mum took my breath away.

And it's just such a lovely feeling to hear somebody who's-- who's known her all her life, you know, have lovely things to say about her.

[Silvana, voice over] [Maria] Oh... [laughs] Oh, my word!

[Silvana] Oh, thank you very much.

[Silvana] [all singing] [cork pops, applause] [Maria] The love and the warmth that came from them today was just overwhelming.

Thank you so much.

I've got something of my mother's.

[laughing] And it's lovely.

[Jodie] Aww.

That picture looks like you.

[Maria] Yeah.

So lovely.

[Maria] I definitely feel closer to my mum.

I know where she is now, where she came from.

Just feel very different-- happy, content.

I'll never look back now, just forward.

Since Francesca Barnes started her transition from male to female, she's wanted her birth mother to be part of the process.

Today, a week after hearing her birth mother Norma's been found, Francesca's traveled to Southampton, the town where she was born, to be reunited with her mother.

I'd like to just shout it from the rooftops, to tell everybody that my mum's been found, and she wants to meet me.

In a way, it's like it's being born all over again.

[Norma] I'm meeting my daughter.

[laughs] It sounds wonderful.

It sounds absolutely wonderful.

I bought her an earring and necklace set.

I love jewelry, and I think Francesca would be the same.

Ruby is her birthstone.

And when I saw that set, I thought, "That is Francesca."

All these years of wondering whether she's had a good upbringing, and-- and she has.

You know, I just-- I just can't wait to meet her.

Want to make up for lost time and bond together as a mother and daughter would.

Francesca and Norma are going to meet at a café not far from the hospital where Francesca was born as Paul over 40 years ago.

[Francesca] It's a big day for me, and I wanted to really sort of make an effort, and I feel at ease, I feel quite comfortable, because I know that she's supportive of-- of my transgender and who I am and who I'm going to become.

And as I'm doing a little bit more in stages, I thought, "Why not go for it?"

I'm wearing a blouse, and my trousers are female, and I also have a pair of knee-high boots on as well.

It makes me feel more feminine, and it gives me that extra confidence to go out like this.

[Norma] I'm just excited to share her life and be a part of it.

If she needs me to hold her hand, anything, just to-- to be there, you know, for her to lean on.

Because what we're both going through is life changing, and we can go through that together.

[sentimental music playing] -Oh, my God!

[cries] -Oh, Francesca!

[cries] Hi, Mum.

[Francesca weeping] -Thank you so much.

-Oh, you're so welcome.

-Thank you.

-Oh.

-You're so beautiful.

-Oh!

[laughs] I could say the same to you as well.

Oh, my.

-Oh, my goodness.

-You alright?

Yeah.

Come, sit down.

There we go.

-It's amazing!

-[laughs] I can't believe this day's come.

No.

We've got so much to talk about.

-So much to catch up.

-I know.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you for accepting me for who I am and for what I'm doing.

Oh, my gosh, no.

It's absolutely truly wonderful.

I want to be there for everything.

I want to support you all the way.

It's amazing.

I can't believe it.

Give me another cuddle.

Give me another cuddle.

I love you to pieces.

[Norma] Oh, I love you, love you, love you.

[Francesca] My emotions just overwhelmed me.

You know, she's the one who gave birth to me all them years ago, and it felt so special for her to accept me as I am.

[Norma] I loved hearing her say, "I love you."

It felt like a second chance.

And I have Francesca to thank for that.

I've got something for you.

That's for you.

Ah!

Oh, my God!

[Norma chuckles] It's my birthstone.

[cries] Thank you so much.

[Francesca] I really love you.

[Norma] I love you too.

I love you too.

[Norma] I just wanted to hug her.

And the bond is there.

Yeah.

And we can do little girly things together.

We can just both look forward to the future now, together.

-Such a big relief.

-Yeah, it is, isn't it?

A whole weight off your shoulders and...

Exactly.

You just-- yeah, yeah, yes.

[both laugh] This has been the best day of my life, by far.

Me too.

It's almost like we've never been apart.

She wants the mother-daughter relationship.

It changes everything.

And I so look forward to a great future together.

Next time... a woman whose family was torn apart by an impossible ultimatum... Dad gave my mother the choice-- it's either us or Geoffrey.

...and a daughter whose mother gave her up against a backdrop of racism.

I don't hold anything against her.

For a white woman with a mixed-race baby, she must have had it hard.

[peaceful music playing]