[general chatter] Do you know what her full name would be?

Have you checked all Irish databases?

[Davina McCall] Over the last 12 series, we've taken on more than 700 searches for long-lost children...

I just want to find my baby.

...absent parents... My mother is in my thoughts all the time.

...and separated siblings...

I have to find my brother.

I just can't let him go.

We found family members who'd been missing for decades and relatives people didn't even know existed.

I knew there was going to be twists and turns.

I said it.

Darling.

[Davina] ...but meeting is just the beginning... [Davina]...and searching doesn't always go as planned.

It may be the last time I see my daughter.

This is the series where we find out What Happened Next.

This week, two extraordinary stories of love...

I'm the mother that they were meant to have.

...and loss.

I'd love to be able to tell them they've made me who I am today.

[Davina]And for one searcher, the time has finally come to meet her sister in person.

-Yay!

-[laughing] [general chatter, typing] Long Lost Family is viewed by millions of people all over the world, and, on rare occasions, someone watching realizes they have a direct connection to our story.

[Linda Edwards]I remember taking that photo, Ricky and Murray, the two boys that I had living with me for 18 months.

I just could not believe what had happened to them.

[general chatter] [Davina] 49-year-old Murray Philips manages a sports bar.

Is that the winning ticket?

He has a grown-up daughter and is engaged to Jenny.

[Murray] Right, have a good evening at Bingo.

[Davina]But his early years were less happy.

He spent them in a children's home with his older brother,Ricky.

[Murray] It wasn't a nice place to be.

I always felt protected by Ricky.

He used to tuck me up in bed and give me a kiss.

Did he do that every night?

Every night, without fail.

And it'd be like, "Are you alright?

Are you okay?"

And sometimes read me a story.

[Davina]The hope of every child in the home was to be adopted.

[Murray] We used to get a lot of people coming and visiting, and we were made to line up.

And I remember holding my brother's hand and saying, "I'm not leaving without him."

[Davina]Eventually, Murray and Ricky were adopted together.

But the brothers did not have the same experience of their adoptive home.

[Murray]I was really close to my mom, and he wasn't so much.

And I think this got a little bit worse as the years went on.

[Davina] And when Ricky was suddenly taken back into care, Murray didn't know if he'd ever see him again.

[Murray]It was just as if someone had just opened a big hole and put me in it.

You know...

It was difficult.

He was everything to me.

[Davina] Since the age of 18, Murray has searched for his brother, but with no success.

[Murray]I'll never stop looking for Ricky.

Just want to make sure he's okay.

[general chatter] [Nicky Campbell]Our specialist social worker team discovered that, at 15, Ricky had been taken in by a family named Barnes.

And Ricky Barnes was finally found.

But he wasn't in the UK anymore.

Ricky has lived in Canada for over 20 years.

He's divorced with a grown-up daughter.

He had a major stroke at the age of 47, and we met at the assisted living facility where he's recovering.

What do you remember of Murray when he was a little boy?

Curly-haired, blonde boy who has a smile to light my life.

So, Murray has always wondered what happened.

Why did you leave?

My... My mom.

I was the one who stole... You stole from your adoptive mother?

Yep.

She spanked me on the floor.

Saucepan-- bang, bang, bang, bang.

She loved Murray, not me, period.

And that's why they basically sent you back?

Yep.

At this children's home, I cried my eyes out.

He thought you were coming back.

No.

Gone.

-[Nicky] Gone.

-Gone forever.

Until now.

Bald head.

[laughs] You... are like me.

The eyes.

You happy?

Bloody happy!

[Nicky laughs] Happy, happy, happy.

[Davina]I traveled to Murray's house in Tamworth to finally tell him the news about his big brother Ricky.

-Hi, Davina.

-Hi, Murray.

-Please come in.

-Oh, thanks very much.

Ricky has been found.

Best day of my life.

It is.

His memory of why he left was that he had a very difficult relationship with your adoptive mother.

He knew that it wasn't the same for you.

He felt that his actions made your adoptive mom treat him... -Yeah.

-...in an unfair way.

He'd be probably protecting me, because if he did explain it to me, -I'd have gone with him.

-Yeah.

And I've never had a bad thought ever about him.

And I want him to know that.

This is your brother.

-Wow.

-[chuckles] [Murray] He's still got the same eyes.

Got the same hairline as me as well.

That's great.

I want to thank him for looking after me.

You know.

I wouldn't be the man I am today without him.

Thank you for finding him.

[Davina] Three weeks on, Murray traveled over 4,000 miles to Canada to reunite with his big brother.

-How are you doing?

-[Ricky] Hello.

-How are you?

-[Murray] Good.

Come here.

I've missed you.

And I've missed you.

-Been a long time, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

A bloody long time.

Yeah.

[both laugh] -Oh, I am happy.

-Good.

Here.

-We're together again.

-Yes, yes, yes, yes.

-I always asked about you.

-Yeah.

And they kept saying I was too young.

You were brushed away, and I really thought that I had something to do with it.

No, I thought it best to leave you behind.

You were safe.

I was not safe.

And I left.

And I protect you.

You protected me, and I've carried that memory through everything that I do.

To me, you're my hero, and you always will be.

I just want to thank you for that.

-[Ricky] Thank you very much.

-Come here.

[both laugh] [general chatter] Today, the brothers are in constant contact and can share each other's milestones.

[general chatter, laughter] [Murray, inaudible] [Davina]Ricky has traveled from Canada to be by Murray's side on his wedding day.

[Ricky laughing] Today is very special.

I am honored to be a part of it.

[Murray]Today's massive for many reasons.

If I could just choose one guest, it would be Ricky.

Excitement, scared, but all I care about is Murray.

That's it.

It is my privilege and my very great pleasure to declare you are husband and wife.

Would you like to give your wife a kiss?

[applause] It's always good to have your big brother by your side at the best day of your life.

[cheering] [laughter] We have always been funny together, telling jokes.

He's a very loving, gentle, kind soul.

I've always loved him, and I still do.

[Ricky] Oh, I love you.

It's really nice that I can have him back in my life now.

[bride laughs] You look good, mate.

Oh, yeah, good-looking as well.

Murray and me, we are closer than before.

And I feel blessed.

[Murray]Now Ricky's back in our lives, we're never, ever gonna let it go again.

So, I'd like to raise a glass to Ricky.

-Welcome home, brother.

-[all] To Ricky!

[Ricky] Thank you.

[applause] Murray's search for Ricky is over, but incredibly, someone who watched the program on the other side of the world got in touch.

Because the brothers were in and out of care homes, she felt that she could provide a happier memory from their very early childhood.

[Nicky] Linda Edwards now lives in Australia but was foster mom to Ricky and Murray before they were adopted, while living in Hertfordshire.

...but she looks like me with hair.

-[Ricky laughs] -[Linda] Murray.

He's still got the same smile.

[Nicky]She hasn't seen them for over 45 years.

I remember holding my brother's hand.

[Linda] When I saw it, I just could not believe what had happened to them and what could have been avoided.

Especially with Ricky, because he trusted me, I think, and I felt that I had to let him down for him to go.

Oh.

[Nicky]We don't often get the chance to speak to foster parents on Long Lost Family, so I've arranged to catch up with Linda while she's in the UK visiting relatives.

Ricky and Murray were moved around between homes so much as young children.

Their memories are fragmented and confused.

What blanks can Linda fill in about their early life?

And how did she feel when she found out what had happened to them?

-Linda!

-Oh, hello, Nicky.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

Nice to meet you.

[Linda] Nice to meet you.

Ah.

So, you really loved those two little boys?

I really did, honestly.

How many children did you have in all this time?

I had three of my own children.

[Nicky] Right.

And I had four foster children, which included Ricky and Murray, and I was 27.

So, the youngest was two, was Murray, and the eldest was a foster child, and he was nine.

This is a photo of my husband and I when we went on holiday with them.

[Nicky] Right.

And you can see Murray there and Ricky with his hands on Mike's shoulders.

-It's like the von Trapps.

-[laughs] It is a bit, yeah.

[Nicky] Yeah.

And then this photo was when I had them all.

Murray I'm holding, and Ricky's down there.

[Nicky] There he is.

They look all so happy together.

They are.

They were really happy.

It was just one big happy family.

And once I'd had them for a year, we put in the application to adopt them, because Ricky, from day one, wanted to call me Mum.

And as much as I said, "Oh, no," you know, "You have to call me Linda," all the other kids called me Mum, even the foster kids.

Then I ended up having them for 18 months.

Our application got refused on the grounds that we had too many children, and they really wanted these two boys to go to a childless couple.

-Oof.

-Yeah.

They found a couple.

The worst thing of all was having to tell Ricky.

I said, "I'm sorry, but you've got to go and live with somebody else."

What did he say?

"No, I don't want to go.

No."

And he said, "I'm not going to call her Mum."

And he said, "I'm going to be so naughty that they send me back" to me.

And I think, psychologically, that has been his thing.

We were allowed one visit, and then we were told we had to cease all contact, which is quite cruel.

So, we'd said goodbye and everything.

We had a Combi van, and on the way back, all of a sudden, we heard all this giggling.

So, my husband pulled over to the side of the road.

And when he opened the doors, they'd got Ricky under the table.

And that was the biggest thing.

He kicked, and he screamed.

"I don't want to come back!"

That was harder than him leaving the first time, to have to do it another time.

Does that still hurt, thinking about it?

Oh, it really-- well, it does.

It makes me feel emotional.

Because I remember it so vividly, and I didn't want to let him go.

I wanted to keep him with me.

You found out that they'd been separated.

-[Linda] Mm.

-What was that like?

Oh, I was devastated when I saw that, when Murray was 9 and Ricky was 12, that they kept Murray and sent Ricky back.

And if they'd have stayed with me, that wouldn't have happened, and it could have been prevented.

[Nicky] You couldn't make this up.

No, you couldn't.

So are you planning on seeing Ricky and Murray?

Yes, I saw Murray yesterday.

We met at a lovely pub in Leamington Spa.

-Wonderful.

What was that like?

-Oh, photos.

There you are.

-Photos?

-Yes, you can see.

[Nicky] Oh, lovely.

So, what was it like meeting Murray?

Oh, really good.

You know, he was pleased to see me.

I mean, although I didn't know him as he was growing up, I only knew him as a baby, I just felt a sort of a connection.

And I'm planning to go to Canada next year to see Ricky.

[Nicky] Wonderful.

I sent Ricky a photo of myself, and when he saw it was me, he sent me a message saying, "Happy, happy, happy, it's you, it's you, it's you."

And he said, "That was the face that I thought was my real mom."

Yeah, he remembers my face but thought it was his real mom.

Well, do you know what?

In some ways, in many ways, you are his real mom.

The mother that they should have had for far longer.

Yeah, the mother that they were meant to have.

Yeah, that's right.

As well as finding separated siblings, Long Lost Family has now brought a much-loved foster mother back into her foster children's lives.

But this program also enables people to re-evaluate their childhood and what it is that makes them who they are.

-[Ann] Want your tea over there?

-[Freddie] Yes, please.

[Davina]52-year-old Ann Melbourne was adopted as a baby and had a happy childhood.

She now lives with her partner, Freddie, and is the mother of three sons.

[Ann] Blake is my oldest, Max is my middle son, and Jamie is my youngest.

Blake passed away on September the 10th, 2011.

Got cancer.

He was 14.

He's massively missed, though.

[Davina]Her two other boys, now adults, have both playedfootball professionally.

[Ann] I'm so proud of them, so I'm hoping that my birth family would think, "Wow, she's done a good job bringing up three boys."

[Davina]For as long as she can remember, Ann has wanted to find her birth parents.

And 12 years ago, she finally traced her mother, who promised to meet her.

But this didn't happen.

[Ann] I found out I was a secret.

My heart sank knowing that was the truth.

She didn't-- she didn't want to know me.

And I felt rejected.

[Davina]But it didn't stop Ann wanting to find out more.

So, cautiously, she continued to look for her birth father.

[Ann]My birth mother gave me his name, Leslie.

[Davina] Ann could now add her father's first name to the other fragments of information she'd gleaned from her adoption paperwork.

My father is a 21-year-old single English boy.

He used to play quite a lot of football.

This is my birth father, who loved football.

And my boys love football.

It's almost like he's been in my life.

[Nicky]When we took on the search, we soon discovered that a Leslie James of the right age had married Dawn 42 years ago.

Leslie was very happy to be found, but sadly, he suffers from dementia, so the situation is difficult for him.

However, there is someone who's keen to talk to me... -Hello!

-His wife, Dawn.

So, did you know about Ann?

No, it was a shock.

[laughs] Why didn't he tell you, do you think?

Well, he didn't know.

So, Leslie didn't know about her?

No, no, nothing.

Do you think Leslie would be comfortable with us showing a photograph of him to Ann?

Yes, yes.

That's what he looks like now.

Alright, okay.

He looks content, though.

He looks happy.

Yeah.

It's just it-- it was a shock.

Two daughters within so many weeks.

Two daughters?

Yeah, well, about six weeks before you notified us about Ann, his other daughter, Jenny, wrote Les a letter.

What?!

Another daughter?

Yes.

[chuckles] She found us herself.

And then a few weeks later, you contact me about Ann.

This is absolutely mind-blowing.

If I was adopted, I'd want to knowabout my past.

And I think it's important that they know who their dad is, really.

[Nicky] Mm.

-I really do.

-Thank you very much.

Okay, love, it was lovely talking to you.

-You too.

-Bye!

[Davina] After contacting Leslie's other daughter, Jenny, there was so much to tell Ann.

[doorbell rings] -Hi, Ann.

-Hi, Davina.

-How you doing?

-I'm okay.

Thank you.

Hi, come on in.

-[Ann] Come through.

-Thank you.

We have found your birth father, Leslie.

Have you?

Have you really?

Oh, my God, I can't believe you found him.

He's not in the best of health, and he does suffer from dementia and memory loss.

Oh, bless him.

But he is so happy to have been found.

Oh, wow.

-He's married... -Right.

...to a lady called Dawn.

They've been together for 42 years.

Oh wow.

Doesn't feel real.

Do they live far away?

-Twelve miles.

-No!

[Davina] Yes.

So, I might have walked past them?

Did he know about me?

-He didn't.

-He didn't?

No.

So, it was a surprise.

Wow.

-This is your dad.

-Oh, my God!

Hiya, Dad.

Hmm.

Oh, he looks lovely.

This is my dad.

And he really, really wants to meet you, but he'd like to do that away from the cameras.

Okay.

Oh, I can't wait to meet him.

We did find something else as well.

Okay.

Dawn told us that six weeks before Long Lost Family got in touch with her, her and Leslie received a letter from a woman called Jenny saying that she was also looking for her birth father, who was called Leslie.

Oh, wow.

This daughter had already been given up for adoption.

So, she was adopted as well?

[laughs] You haven't got a picture of her, have you?

Yeah.

Oh, wow!

That's brilliant.

She'll know exactly how it feels.

Do you know, I couldn't have hoped for a better thing.

I know how much loss you've suffered.

Yeah.

It's really nice to be able to bring you something.

And it's nice to gain.

[seagulls crying] [Davina] Ann traveled to Devon, where her newly-discovered sister lives.

For Jenny, learning she had a half-sister was alsoa complete surprise.

[Jenny] I can't believe it.

Never, ever thought anybody would have the same story as mine.

It does feel as though there's sort of, like, a connection already.

[tense music playing] -Hi.

-Hello.

[Ann] Hi.

[laughs] Hi.

Ah... and breathe.

[both laugh] Wow.

Oh, God.

What a shock.

I know, I know.

Total, total shock.

-From out of the blue.

-Yes.

[Ann] Oh, my God!

[exhaling] So, isn't it crazy that you were looking for Leslie at the same time as me?

-I know.

-I've got pictures.

See, look how good-looking he was.

[Jenny] I know, yeah.

See where I get my mop of hair from.

[Ann laughs] Yes.

He did have good hair.

Where's it gone?

-It doesn't seem real.

-No.

-That's our biological dad.

-Yeah.

I've always wanted a sister.

To say like, "What can I wear?"

And I've only had my boys to say.

[Jenny laughs] It is amazing.

I'm so pleased.

-Me too, me too.

-I really am.

[Davina]Meeting Jenny has given Ann something she'd always yearned for-- a close blood relative.

But she didn't find closure until after she'd met her birth father, Leslie.

[Ann]I don't know what I expected, but when I got there, it made me realize I found somebody who couldn't give me any answers, really.

He's just a really nice man that doesn't know anything about me.

So, he's just a stranger, and how do you come into someone's life as a stranger?

Since Ann's program aired, she has stayed in touch with her sister, Jenny, but despite the joy of finding her birth father, Ann and Les haven't managed to develop a close relationship.

This sometimes happens on Long Lost Family, and I'm on my way to speak to her about it.

-Hi, Ann.

-Hi, Davina.

Come on in.

Thanks.

[Davina] So, a lot's happened.

How was Les when you met him?

He's lovely, really nice man.

-Had problems with his memory.

-Right.

He did look confused.

It must be hard for him, thinking, who am I?

To be honest, you do feel a bit disappointed, because, as far as I was concerned, he didn't know about me, and he doesn't really remember anything.

You must have built up a kind of fantasy of what your birth parents were like.

Yeah, I kind of thought that, you know, they were a couple that loved each other, and thought they were together, anyway, in my head.

But he didn't even know about me.

You know, he didn't know anything about me.

So, completely different.

I guess I just needed to burst that bubble of that fantasy, and it's-- it's gone.

I don't have that yearning now.

It's...

I'm complete.

How much do you think your outlook on life has helped you through this?

My outlook on life is quite a positive one, and I just move on.

I found him.

He was just a man.

If you want to put it bluntly, he made me.

But he didn't make me who I am.

I mean, I was lucky he's still here.

He can't remember things, but he's alive, um... You know, some people don't get that chance.

But I think if someone's thinking about it, just follow it and see where it takes you, but don't be scared.

It's just part of a journey, really.

We touched on your birth mother when I saw you last.

Has anything happened with her?

Yes, so since I found that Les hasn't got a very good memory, I emailed her and told her the situation.

And she came back to me pretty quick and actually sent me a photograph.

-[Davina gasps] -Yeah.

-Wow!

-I know.

After 14 years.

Wait, so this is amazing, because this journey with Les and Jenny has given you the courage.

Yes, she's actually sent me about three or four photographs, which I did not expect.

And it's-- and I'm not a secret anymore.

-Wow.

Okay.

-[Ann] Yeah.

There's more to be discovered, I think.

I think so, yeah.

[Davina]14 years after first contacting her birth mother, Ann's finally got some answers.

But finding her birth parents has led Ann to a new realization about her late adoptive parents, whom she called Mum and Dad.

[Ann]All the little things that make me who I am came from my mom and dad, who knew everything about me and could look at me and say, "You're happy, you're sad."

And from a tiny baby until they passed away, they're the only parents I'veever known and ever loved.

I just love looking at photos, especially of the boys and my mom and dad.

Um, they're great memories.

They're my family.

[Davina]When Ann's adoptive mom died three years ago, she soldher old family home.

Although Ann lives nearby, this is the first chance she's had to stop and see the house since.

I've been dying to do this.

I've been dying to come and stare at the house and let all the memories flood through my head.

This is the house that I grew up in with my mom and dad.

This is the only house I knew.

My friend lived over there.

My best friend lived over there.

We used to look out the bedroom windows to each other and shout across, "What time can you come out to play?"

Or...

Always on our roller skates, and we'd roller skate up and down the road, bikes all the time.

Yeah, there's just loads of memories here.

I can see us all in there, Mum and Dad and that.

Hmm.

There's a lot of love in this house.

Hmm.

Just because you give birth to someone, it doesn't make you a parent.

What makes you a parent is Mum and Dad wiping my nose and cleaning my knee and feeding me, and everything they did, you take for granted, and you still think that there's something else you want, and you don't need anything.

You just need their bringing me up as their daughter.

Do you know what, I really do wish that they were here, 'cause I'd love to be able to tell them, this is all I needed.

Just-- just what we had was perfect.

[phones ringing] Our next story had a remarkably similar beginning to Ann's, with our searcher yearning to find her birth parents.

But then, it went in a different direction altogether.

[seagulls crying] [kids playing] [Davina] 67-year-old Jean Smith and her husband, Roger, live on the South Coast, where they've raised their three children and now six grandchildren.

[Jean] Beautiful.

Family is just everything.

[Jean] Fabulous.

Want an ice cream now.

[girl giggles] [Jean laughs] [Davina] Jean's own childhood was also full of love.

She was adopted as a baby by adoring parents.

But knowing she was adopted, Jean always felt that something was missing.

I used to feel homesick.

It's the only way I can describe it.

I felt homesick when I was at home.

You are desperate to know who your birth parents are.

But when I was younger, I never wanted to search, just in case it hurt my adoptive parents' feelings.

[Davina]In her thirties, Jean found her birth mother.

The first thing she said to me when she saw me was, "You're more like your dad."

[Davina] Her birth mother gave her some information about her father-- that his name was Johnny Perkins, and that he'd been a GI in the US Air Force.

Jean found out that her father's squadron had been stationed in Cambridgeshire in 1952.

According to the adoption records, when her mother fell pregnant, Airman Johnny Perkins had been prepared to standby her.

[Jean] They had discussed marriage and decided that it wasn't a good idea, because they were both so young.

[Davina]The decision was made to have Jean adopted, and after her birth, Jean's mother never saw Johnny again.

[Jean] She presumed that he'd got shipped off back home.

I've often wondered if he thought about me.

[Davina] Jean's been searching for her father in the U.S. military archives for 30 years.

It's just devastating.

I've tried everything I can think of and still got nowhere.

[Nicky]As John Perkins is a common name in the U.S., we knew he would be hard to find, searching records alone.

So we decided to add Jean's DNA to an online database to see ifany blood relatives came up on her father's side.

Immediately, we got a match-- a half-sister called Sandra Ramirez, living in America.

-Hi, Sandra.

-Hello!

-How are you?

-Hi.

[Nicky]But we were just too late.

Within 24 hours of the match appearing, Sandra had emailed Jean herself.

[Sandra] As soon as I saw that DNA match, I sent a message to her, and I actually knew instantly who it was.

Wow, so you knew you had a sister?

I've kind of known in the back of my mind that my dad had a daughter somewhere, and I knew it was from when my dad was in the military, before he metmy mother.

It must have been a strange feeling to know that Jean had been searching for your father for decades.

Yeah, it's really sad.

Our father had already passed away.

He was pretty young.

He was only 63.

He was a very kind person, and... everybody liked him.

He would have included her in the family.

We got a big family-- four brothers and one younger sister.

Oh, wow.

And they're all open to meeting her.

Everybody wants to.

Tearing up just thinking about it.

I got a big sister.

[laughs] [Davina]Jean now had from Sandra the sad news that her father had passed away.

But she'd also discovered a whole new family waiting to welcome her.

I met with Jean to see how it was all going.

-Hi, Jean.

-[Jean] Hello.

-How are you doing?

-Good.

Lovely to see you.

[Davina] Oh, and you.

What's this contact with Sandra meant to you?

Everything.

Everything, really.

Especially because she contacted me.

Yeah.

That is just the most amazing thing.

I never expected that.

And the excitement of all these siblings.

[laughs] Four brothers and two sisters.

-Six!

-I know.

[Davina] That's amazing!

Going from an only child... [laughs] ...to having all these brothers and sisters.

That's really special, but I am really sorry to hear about your dad.

Was Sandra able to give you a picture?

Yes, this is one that she sent me, which is in his uniform.

Wow.

-He looks lovely.

-Yeah.

It's so special.

It's just putting a face to the dream that I used to have.

Now I can put a face to it and imagine him actually walking in.

Oh, amazing.

Two years on, the sisters have met online and been in regular contact, but, because of COVID and Sandra living on the West Coast of America, it's been impossible for them to meet in person... until now... as Sandra has traveled 5,000 miles to the UK for this extraordinary moment.

[Sandra] Today, I am meeting my older sister for the first timein my life.

But the closer it gets, I'm, like, starting to... get a little shaky.

I'm kind of a bit, um, all over the place.

I think it's sort of 30 years of buildup.

[laughing]So, I'm a bit emotional today, but still excited.

[doorbell ringing] [both] Hi!

[Jean laughing] It's been a long time, long time.

-[Jean] Good to see you.

-Good to see you too.

[Jean] Ah, two years.

My goodness.

It's a long time.

Long time.

Oh, I don't want to let you go.

-[Sandra laughs] -Come on in.

Come on in.

[Jean]It's kind of finished, in a way, isn't it?

All that searching and everything, and now, it's the start of a new chapter.

-[Jean] Welcome to the UK.

-Oh, my gosh.

[Davina] Jean has brought Sandra to her favoritespot in Dorset.

[Sandra] Does anybody live over there?

[Jean] Yeah, yeah, people live there.

[Davina]Having spent a lifetime apart, finally, this is an opportunity for Jean to ask Sandra questions about their birth father face to face.

-[waitress] Two lattes.

-[Sandra] Good.

Thank you.

-Enjoy.

-[Jean] Thanks very much, ta.

Can you see anything in me that is like him?

Oh, definitely.

You're a Perkins, for sure.

[both laugh] Ear lobes, mouth, eyes... your hair is wispy like his was.

[both laugh] What sort of things did he like?

He boxed, he played baseball, he raced cars.

-He was a mechanic.

-Mechanic?

Wow, I didn't know that.

Mechanic-wise, I have this hat I want to give to you.

-Oh, wow.

For me to keep?

-For you to keep.

This is the hat he always wore when he was working on everybody's cars in the neighborhood.

[Jean] This is absolutely precious.

To have the hat, that's a big deal for me, because it's just nice to be able to touch something that was actually his, that he has touched as well.

Um...

It just fills that-- fills that hole.

This is an early picture of Dad.

-[Jean] Gosh.

-Very handsome man.

Oh, that's lovely.

[Sandra] And this is the latest picture that I have of him before he passed away.

And even it's a little on the older side.

-Yeah.

-But you can see the ears.

-Look.

-[Jean laughs] [Sandra] The wispy hair.

The nose.

[Jean] Oh, he looks so sweet.

Wow.

He thought about you.

I'm sure that if we would have found each other before he passed away, you would have been welcomed.

He would have loved to meet you.

Wow.

I feel like our father would have been extremely happy that we finally found each other.

Cheers to us.

Cheers to our dad.

If it wouldn't have turned out this way, we wouldn't have met each other.

-[Jean] To sisters.

-Cheers to sisters.

[Sandra] It was really important to tell Jean about or father, to really know what her dad was like and who he was.

[Jean] Let's have a little wander, shall we?

I've always felt a connection to my birth dad, because I used to dream about him when I was a kid, all the time.

But it's much stronger now.

Yeah, it's just lovely.

There you go.

Morning.

-[Sandra] Morning.

-Want your usual porridge?

[Sandra] Yes, please.

[Davina] On Long LostFamily, visits are usually brief.

But Jean and Sandra are spending the entire summer together.

That's a heck of a long time for anybody, but it was so comforting to me to know that she wanted to come for that length of time, regardless of how it might turn out.

[laughs] [Davina] So the sisters have gone from having never met to beinghousemates overnight.

-My porridge partner.

[laughs] -Yeah.

[Sandra]Actually, being here in person, I feel so loved.

I really do.

The longer we're together, the more things we're telling each other about our own personal lives.

-No?

[laughs] -No.

[Davina] And it's not just each other that they're getting to know.

-Hello!

-Hi.

[all] Hi!

-Squeeze in?

-[all] Squeeze.

[laughter] [Jean]The family have just taken to her straight away, and it's just been a real bond there.

Straight away, she just fitted in, and they just love her to bits.

She's just part of us now.

[laughter] [Davina]And the sisters are hoping this visit will be the first of many, with Jean looking forward to meeting the rest of her American family.

[Sandra]I've invited Jean and Roger over next summer.

Get all the siblings, all the kids.

We're going to have a big party.

[Sandra laughs] [Jean]You don't realize how important blood family is until you haven't had it.

It's something that I needed to have.

-[child] Come on!

-[laughter] [end music playing]