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

[woman] Just to be in my father's arms... to have him hold me... it'd be like a dream come true.

[man] I want to know that I'm part of a family.

I want somebody to feel loved by and to express love to.

[woman] It was a secret, and finding my brother would put an end to that secret.

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... You can stop looking, 'cause your mother's been found.

[crying] [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] ...and finally answering questions that have haunted entire lives.

I'm your big brother.

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

This week, two stories of women haunted by events in their past-- A mother robbed of any memory of the time she spent with her daughter... [woman] I lost a lot of memories of her.

And I need to see her again.

I really do.

...and a woman whose mother abandoned her.

[woman] This is the house I was left at when I was about 3 years old.

I always used to hope that my mum would come back.

[dramatic music ends] Our first search is on behalf of a mother whose brief time spent with her daughter nearly 50 years ago has been wiped from her memory.

[melancholy music] This is my baby, Samantha.

I've got lots of photos of us together.

So, I know I held her.

But... gosh.

When Susan Webb gave up her daughter for adoption in 1968, she suffered from depression.

She was treated with electroconvulsive therapy, which has severely affected her memory.

I do get frustrated and angry that I can't even remember feeding her or changing her.

Now, that should be something I should remember, but I've got no recollection of it at all.

And I can't stand the thought of not having a memory of my daughter.

[Susan] Come on.

Susan is widowed and lives in Norfolk.

But she grew up in Essex with her parents, Doris and Arthur, and her older brother, David.

We were the usual sort of brother and sister.

We'd fight at times.

[laughs] But there was always love in the family.

But when Susan was just a teenager, their happy life was shattered when Susan's brother was killed in a road accident.

To see my mum and dad go to pieces was awful.

Just hugging one another and crying, and I thought, "I've got to stay strong.

I've got to."

You know?

But then Susan discovered she was pregnant.

Abandoned by her boyfriend, she only had her grieving parents to turn to.

[Susan] I thought, "This is the last straw to them.

They went through so much losing my brother," and I thought, "Well, I can't carry this on."

I will have to have her adopted.

Susan gave birth to her daughter Samantha on the first of July, 1967.

At first, Samantha was placed in foster care, and Susan was able to visit her for six months, until the day she was adopted.

But Susan's memories of their precious time together were about to be taken away from her.

[Susan] I started to feel lower and lower all the time.

I often had bouts of depression and... crying.

Just didn't know if I could go on.

And, uh, that's when they decided to send me for the electric shock therapy.

[dramatic beat] At the time, electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, was commonly used to treat severe depression by passing electrical currents through the brain.

You're taken in this room.

Oh, God.

Uh... [Susan] You feel something go on here.

Electrode things.

But, um, then, you, obviously-- I don't know whether you pass out or what.

I don't know.

But it gives you a sh-- um, fit.

God, awful.

[Susan] And, um, afterwards, your head is really pounding, and you can't remember a single thing.

You're completely blank.

To this day, Susan has been unable to recall any of the time she spent with her daughter.

Even the last time she saw her-- Samantha's christening.

This is obviously where she was christened.

But I find it, uh, hard to remember any of it.

Hmm.

Baptized on the 14th of January, 1968.

Samantha Lisa.

I wish I could remember, but I still can't.

[Susan] I gave Samantha away, and then all the memories of her when she was a baby were taken from me.

I feel as though I lost her again.

Susan went on to marry and have twins, Nicola and Joanne.

They've seen how important the search for Susan's first baby has been for her.

When I got to the church, I thought, "I'll say a little prayer here."

-[twins] Hmm.

-Please let me find her.

[twin] I think you're really brave.

It's become more and more important to her, hasn't it?

To just understand what happened to her first baby.

It was such a dreadful thing, it's shaped her whole life and how she feels about herself.

[Susan] I did love her.

That's one thing I do remember.

I'd love to hold her again.

Cuddle her.

I need to see her again.

I really do.

Susan has been longing to find her daughter for nearly 50 years, and it's hardly surprising she's never found a trace of her.

In almost all cases when a baby's adopted, they're given a new identity, so what we needed was Samantha's new name.

[fast-paced music playing] [car starts] [seagulls calling] [Nicky] Because of the need to protect the identity of adopted children, the only way we could find this was by working with a specialist intermediary, legally allowed to access records.

Eventually, after a three-month search, we were told Samantha had been traced.

Now called Donna, she lives in Folkestone with her husband.

A letter was sent, and she agreed to meet me to find out more about her birth mother.

Susan has spent nearly 50 years trying to piece together the memories she has of her daughter-- but what about Donna?

What does she know about her birth mother, and how will she feel about Susan coming back into her life?

-Donna?

-Hello.

-Hi, I'm Nicky.

-Hi.

-Very nice to meet you.

-You too.

Come in.

[Nicky] Thank you very much.

So, how did you feel when you found out that Susan was looking for you?

Totally floored.

I was just shaking.

I just opened the letter, and as soon as I saw the name Susan, I knew it was my birth mother looking for me.

I couldn't believe it.

I was amazed.

Not been able to stop thinking about it since.

[laughs] So, what do you know?

I mean, my mum and dad told me that I was adopted when I was fairly young.

How old?

Probably about nine or ten, and even though we were all very close, I've always felt as if there's something missing from my life, um... Just-- just knowing where I came from, really.

But, I mean, I got my adoption file.

That had quite a lot of information in there about-- there was quite a few letters to and fro about my adoption.

For her, it was very, very difficult at the time.

Yeah.

-She'd lost her brother.

-Oh, I know that.

That's in the record as well, that they'd... Yeah.

...just had a bereavement, yeah.

And so, that was awful, and then giving-- giving you up for adoption.

[Donna] Mm-hmm.

She became depressed, and because her depression was so bad, she had electroconvulsive therapy.

-Really?

-Yeah.

ECT.

And it's affected her memories.

And she feels that she's had memories of you when you were a baby taken away from her.

It's horrible.

Didn't realize that she'd gone through that.

Hmm.

That's a lot to carry around, isn't it, all those years?

Susan's written you this letter.

[Donna] "Dear Samantha, I need to try and explain why I gave you up for adoption 48 years ago.

It wasn't because I didn't want you.

My parents were grieving for my brother, who'd been killed in a road accident.

I felt I couldn't put any more on them at the time.

So, I decided I had to let you go to a family with two parents.

It broke my heart [pause] to let you go.

[voice wavering] I've thought of you often over the years and always wished I could hold you in my arms once more.

[emotional] I do hope life has been kind to you, and that I did the right thing.

With love from your birth mother, Susan."

[sighs] Yes, she did do the right thing.

I was happy, you know.

I am happy.

But I'd still like to see her.

[laughs] Do you want to see a photograph?

That's Susan.

Oh.

[laughs] Wow.

[Donna] She looks lovely.

She really does.

I might know what I'm gonna look like when I get older now, then?

[laughs] -Did she have any more children?

-Yeah.

Okay.

[laughs] Two girls.

Twins.

-Really?

-Nicola and Joanne.

You got a photo of them?

[laughs] -There you are.

-You have!

[laughter] Oh, wow!

They are your sisters.

Goodness.

Huh.

Wow.

[laughs] I've always wondered if I looked like anyone, and 'cause I haven't got any children of my own either, I can't sort of relate that side of it either.

I haven't got anyone that looks like me.

It's an amazing feeling, isn't it?

It is.

Yeah.

-Bet you can't wait now.

-No.

[laughs] Can't.

[laughs] It's actually gonna happen.

[seagulls calling] [Davina] But before we tell Susan we've found her daughter... Our second search begins with a woman desperate to find her mother, who disappeared from her life when she was 3.

[woman] The hope for me is the hope that's driven me all of my life, is to find my mother.

I never accepted what happened to me.

I've always wanted to be connected to her.

51-year-old civil servant Sonia Walsh lives in rural Cambridgeshire with her partner.

But her life began in the Portobello area of West London.

All Sonia knows about her beginnings is that her mother, Maureen, left her and her younger sister, Tammy, at the house of an acquaintance in October 1967.

Their mother never returned.

So, this is the house that I was left at when I was about 3 years old.

[Sonia] It makes me feel sad.

You know, what was she thinking when she did that?

Did she say goodbye to me for the last time, or did she say anything to me when she left me there?

And to think that I walked through that door and into that house, and that was the last time I saw her.

Despite an extensive search by Social Services, the children's mother was never found.

Sonia and Tammy were taken into care and eventually adopted into the same family.

Even though that I have no memory of my mother, I was very conscious that the family I was being brought up in actually wasn't my family.

And I struggled to connect.

I used to find myself sitting on a doorstep in various places where I lived.

And I always used to hope that my mum would come back.

That's where my heart was.

As soon as she was legally allowed to, at the age of 18, Sonia accessed her adoption file to try and find out why her mother had abandoned her.

When I first read the file, I felt overwhelmed, because it was the first time that I was reading information that related to my life.

My mother came over from Ireland as a teenager.

She was like a butterfly, going from place to place, trying to find some support.

Her life appeared quite chaotic.

It says that she lived near Portobello Road and was on the street.

That was hard to read.

She was probably quite desperate.

She was trying to survive in a world that was probably quite difficult for her.

But what Sonia discovered next was even more of a shock.

Her mother had given up another child three years before Sonia was born.

Patrick, date of birth 11/04/1961, and he was committed to care in Westminster.

It's just, like, four lines, but such a massive statement.

It had an enormous impact on me.

I have a brother.

He's in this big world somewhere.

He's part of me.

The file revealed that Sonia's older brother had eventually been adopted.

But after giving him up and then abandoning Sonia and her sister, their mother disappeared without a trace.

[Sonia] How could a mother do that?

How could you have one, two, and then a third child, and effectively walk away from all three?

To try and find answers, 20 years ago, Sonia decided to go back to where her mother Maureen came from-- Waterford, in Ireland.

Sonia discovered that Maureen's family couldn't afford to keep her, and from the age of 6, she'd been raised in the Sisters of the Good Shepherd Convent, now a college.

My first impressions were, it was a quite stark, dark, oppressive place.

I thought, "Wow, my mother spent ten years of her life here."

And as my visit unfolded, I found out that this place was used as a laundry workhouse, where children effectively spent their lives praying and working.

The Good Shepherd Convent was part of a network of asylums known as Magdalene laundries.

These institutions, now all shut down, were notorious for taking in unmarried mothers and forcing them to do unpaid hard labor.

But the laundries also took in children from poor families, like Sonia's mum, and put them to work to earn their keep.

My mother ceased being a child the minute she stepped into that place.

I was deeply affected by that, and things slotted into place.

You know, how on earth could she know what is needed as a mother to bring up a child when she just wasn't shown it?

Not only was my mother's childhood lost, so was mine, my sister's, and Patrick's, because of that.

That's hard.

That's hard.

The convent could shed no further light on what had happened to Sonia's mother.

And despite over 30 years of searching for both her mother and her brother, Sonia's no nearer to finding either of them.

Just to be able to meet my mother... to just say, "It's okay.

And I understand why you did what you did.

I understand your pain, actually."

And that's what's driven me all these years, and I also would like to find Patrick, because he's part of my mother.

He's my brother.

I hope that I can get some good out of all the wrong that's happened.

[upbeat music playing] When Sonia came to us, she'd been searching for her mother and brother for more than 30 years.

[Nicky] Her sister Tammy is supportive but wasn't able to appear on camera.

When we took up the search, we knew their mother's date of birth, but the adoption file revealed that she went by both the names Maureen and Mary.

Then, once in London, Sonia's mother was using several different surnames, so finding her was gonna be tough.

An extensive search when she first went missing in the 1960s led nowhere.

More than 40 years later, after an exhaustive trawl of records, we also hit a brick wall.

So, we decided to turn our attention to Sonia's brother.

Could we find him?

Notes in Sonia's file suggested that Patrick had been adopted through a Catholic charity, so our intermediary investigated.

Eventually, we were told that Patrick had been adopted and his name changed to John.

John had grown up in West London, just a few streets fr om where Sonia and her sister were left by their mother.

Ever since Sonia discovered she had a brother, she's been desperate to find out what happened to him.

So, what about John?

How has his life turned out?

And what does he know about his birth family and where he came from?

John still lives in the area with his wife and son.

[door beeping] -John?

-Hello, Nicky.

-How are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

-You too.

-Please come in.

-After you.

-Thanks.

[Nicky] Thank you for having me.

So... how did you feel when you found out that you had a sister looking for you?

Well, I was obviously shocked.

Although I was shocked, it was a sense of excitement and, let's, uh-- 'cause for all-- you know, all these years, I've...

I didn't think there was anybody else sort of related to me.

So, what did you know?

I was told I was adopted when I... when I was 11 years old, uh, by my mum and dad, and I can still remember the moment now.

-Sort of when I think back... -What happened?

They just called me and said, uh, told me that I'd been adopted, and my mum had sort of passed away when... she gave birth to me.

-God.

-Hmm.

So, I never dreamt that I would have a brother or sister out there, because, obviously, my thought was my mum had-- was no longer around, sort of thing, so... What was it like processing information that, uh, she hadn't died?

It was [laughs] a bit of a shock, 'cause all these years, I'd been the youngest of four children, and now, suddenly, I'm, you know, the older brother of two sisters, and it's, uh... Sonia found out when she was 18 and she looked at, uh, her adoption records that she had a brother, so that you've been a part of her life ever since then.

So, she's been looking for quite some years, then?

Yeah.

That's quite amazing to-- to hear that.

[laughs] And did she live with, uh, our mum at all, or...?

No.

This is-- this is difficult information to tell you, but she and her sister were basically abandoned... by your mother, and they were left with somebody who was a vague acquaintance, and, um, she never came back to get them.

Oh.

That must have been very hard for them.

So, would there be any chance that my birth mother would still be alive?

We don't know, but we are looking for her.

She grew up in Waterford, in Ireland, and from the age of 6 to 16, she was in a convent.

An infamous Magdalene laundry.

Ah.

She then came over to London, and she was homeless.

I mean, hearing that now, it makes me feel sort of-- you know, sad for her that she was in that situation.

And she's a single mother, I would imagine.

So, she must have been quite desperate then.

In her circumstances.

Sonia really feels that she has a connection with you, and she wants to see you, to share all this with.

And for you to be a part of her life.

Amazing, really [laughs] just-- I thought I'd end up sort of leaving this earth just, you know... [laughs] without any other people connected to me, you know...

I do have a photo.

Oh, right.

[laughs] Oh.

[sentimental music playing] Hmm.

That's just, uh-- Just to be sitting here looking at a photo of someone who's [laughs] you know, related to me, is just-- She looks lovely.

Really lovely.

[laughs] God.

Isn't that something?

[laughs] [chuckles] Yeah, and it means a tremendous amount to me that, you know, that she's been thinking of me all these years, and-- And even, you know, gone to all this trouble to try and find me.

[laughs] I can't really wait.

[laughs] [Davina] Susan Webb is searching for the daughter she gave up for adoption in 1968.

Following electroconvulsive therapy, Susan's memory of their time together has been lost.

It's hard to imagine what it's been like for Susan.

Her long-term memory's been so damaged that she's struggled to remember those early moments with her baby daughter.

But now Donna's been found, they'll get the chance to make new memories together.

-Hi, Susan.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Lovely to see you.

-And you.

-Please come in.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

-[Susan] There we are, sit down.

-Lovely.

When I heard about your story, I think the thing that really got to me was this, um, ECT.

Yeah.

All because of being depressed.

And then that really robbed you of the most precious... -Yes.

-...moments that you had... -That's right.

-...with your daughter.

Can you just tell me about that?

There's some things I can't remember at all.

Even though I had her at home for a day or two here and there 'til she was six months old.

You know, I don't remember anything-- doing anything for her-- but I know I did.

[Davina] Hmm.

Well, I was told I did, I suppose, but... can't remember.

Can't remember having her christened.

That hurts, really, because that was the last time I saw her.

-[Davina] Hmm.

-Hmm.

Well, it isn't the last time you'll get to see her, 'cause we have found your daughter.

-You haven't?

-We have.

[laughs] Oh, my goodness.

Oh, gosh, I didn't think this was coming.

[laughs] Oh, dear.

[laughs] Oh, God.

Really?

[giggling] Oh, wow.

[laughs] Oh.

But does she want to see me?

She really wants to see you.

You don't know how happy I am.

[laughs] -That's why I'm crying.

-[whispering] I can see.

Great.

Absolutely.

[laughs] Her name's Donna now.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Wow.

-She's had a good adoption.

-Good.

But she always felt a kind of yearning to know where she came from.

[Susan] Oh.

Hmm.

-She was really moved... -Oh, was she?

...by everything that you've been through.

Ah.

I always felt wrong that I had to give her away.

Guilt, guilt, all the time.

Hmm.

[Davina] Hmm.

Yeah.

Oh, what a relief.

[laughs] What a relief.

[laughs] God.

Oh, I can't wait to see her.

[laughs] Would you like to see a picture?

Ooh!

Really?

Yeah.

Ooh, yes, please.

[laughs] Here's Donna.

Oh, wow!

Oh, she's lovely.

Oh, she still looks as she did as a baby to me.

Oh, bless 'er.

They look at you from five weeks old, and now you're 48.

[laughs] Wow.

Can you believe it?

Oh... [laughs] That's absolutely marvelous.

I'll never want to let her go again, that's how I feel.

Oh, thank you.

[laughs] [Davina] Today, Susan will see her daughter again for the first time in 48 years.

-Hi.

-Hello, Davina.

-How are you doing?

-How lovely to see you.

[Davina] Shall we go?

[Davina] What do you think you'll want to say to her when you see her?

Well, I've obviously got to hug her, haven't I, and... Oh, how I've missed her.

I wish I'd never given her away.

[Davina] It's like fresh beginnings.

[Susan] Yes, that's right.

Yes.

[suspenseful music playing] Donna's made the journey from Folkestone to Essex, where she spent time with her mother in her first six months.

-Hello, you.

-Hi, Nicky.

Right, let's go.

[Davina] Susan and Donna are meeting at Highlands House, near the church where Donna was christened.

Now, what do you feel about meeting somebody that you're related to, for the first time?

Hmm.

But at the same time a stranger.

It's a bit scary.

I just don't know how I'm gonna feel.

I hope it does-- it just-- you know... puts together a bit about my life, for me.

Oh, it's a big thing for both of us, isn't it?

Dear.

It is.

[Davina] Are you worried?

-Yeah, a little bit.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm sure I'll be fine once I see her.

[Sighs] I never, ever thought this day would happen.

Well, this is where I leave you.

You'll be alright?

-Yeah, thank you.

-Good luck.

[Donna] Thanks.

[Davina] So, this is it.

Oh.

-I'm gonna say goodbye here.

-Thank you so much, Davina.

[Davina] Ahh.

-Thank you.

-[whispering] Good luck.

Thank you.

[suspenseful music playing] [laughs] Ooh, let me cuddle you.

It's so good to see you.

It's so good to see you.

[sighs] [crying] Oh.

I can't speak for a minute, can you?

[Donna] No.

Oh, it's so good to see you.

Wow.

-It's my little girl.

[laughs] -Oh.

[laughs] You know, I can see the likeness to my girls and me, -about a bit round here.

-Yeah, this... the smile, with your smile on your picture, yeah.

[laughs] I've always wondered about ya, all these years.

I've always wondered what you was like, -and whether I looked like you.

-Yeah.

Or where I come from.

Well, I've got something to show you.

Which I've had for 48 years.

This is-- this is you at five weeks.

Oh, wow!

-This is you?

-Yeah.

Oh.

[laughter] Wow!

It's hard to absorb that, that-- that's actually me... -I'm sure it is.

-...and you.

[laughter] Yeah.

Once I'd hugged her, I felt an immediate connection with her.

Yes, I did, yeah.

She's got such a sweet smile, and her little giggle.

-[laughter] -[Susan] I feel relieved now.

At ease.

Now I-- I know now what she's like.

-[laughter] Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

[laughter] Hello.

[laughter] Joanne.

How are you?

Yeah, better now.

Better now, yeah.

If you don't mind we keep looking at you?

No, no, not at all.

Today has been amazing to meet Susan and Joanne and Nicola.

[Donna] My new sisters.

It just felt so natural.

[laughs] You are like me.

You've got the same sense of humor as me.

[laughter] [Susan] I just felt proud.

There's my three girls.

It's a lovely feeling.

Lovely.

Lovely.

[laughter] [Susan] I lost a lot of memories.

I'd like to create new ones.

[women chatting, laughing] [Davina] For over 30 years, Sonia Walsh has been looking for her mother and her older brother, without any success.

Sadly, as yet, we've been unable to trace her mother.

But I am on my way to tell Sonia that her brother John has been found.

And he cannot wait to meet her.

-Hi, Sonia.

-Hi, Davina, welcome.

Come in.

-[Davina] How you doing?

-Not too bad, thank you.

You?

Yeah, good, thanks.

[Davina] Thanks for seeing me.

You've been looking for your mum for so long.

-Yeah.

-And... the search is a really difficult one, because she's changed her name several times, and it's-- it's ongoing.

We're not giving up.

But I'm really sorry, I don't have any news about her yet.

Yeah.

It's a disappointment, isn't it?

[whispering] I know.

But, Sonia, can I tell you something?

Your brother has been found.

Oh, has he?

Oh, wow.

-Has he?

-Yeah.

[laughs] Oh, that is good news.

Well, that's really good.

I'm really pleased.

Really pleased.

He's called John now.

-Is he?

-Yeah.

Wow.

-John.. -I'm chuffed to bits.

John didn't know about you.

Oh.

Did he not?

And he couldn't believe it.

Aw.

He'd been told that his mum had died in childbirth.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-By his parents, I guess?

-Yeah, yeah.

By his adoptive parents.

So, he never looked for her, but he did think that he would never live to see the day where he would meet somebody that was.. -Oh!

-...related to him.

I mean, that's just amazing, isn't it?

Just gonna look at each other and think what-- where are the similarities, you know?

Things like that are really important.

I've got a photo.

Have you?

Come on, then.

I think he looks so like you.

[laughs] Oh, wow!

Aw.

I think he looks lovely.

I think he looks lovely.

Wow, thank you ever so much.

Can I keep this?

-Course you can.

-Oh, thank you.

-He's written you a few lines.

-Oh has he?

Yeah.

-Here you go.

-[laughs] "Dear Sonia, It's been a couple of weeks now since I received a letter out of the blue, telling me that I had a sister who'd been searching for me for a number of years.

To say I was shocked is an understatement.

I have at times wondered whether there was someone out there related to me, or was I alone in that sense..." Oh, I know who he feels at that.

[Davina] Oh.

I have been thinking about this every day since I received the letter and cannot wait to finally meet my two sisters, from your big brother."

[laughter] Aw.

Aw, I want him to be my big brother.

I do.

I just want to meet him now.

Just a few days after being told that her older brother, John, has been found, Sonia's going to meet him in London for the first time.

-Hi!

-Hi, Davina.

-How are you doing?

-[muffled] Nice to see you.

Oh, and you.

How have you been?

I've been really good, thank you.

[Davina] Yeah?

Looking forward to seeing John?

I hope you have a lovely day, yeah?

[John] I'm sure I will do.

Love you.

-Have a good day.

-I will.

Bye.

-Morning, Nicky.

-How you doing?

-I'm fine.

-Feeling okay?

Uh, a bit nervous, but... [Nicky] Not surprising.

[Nicky] Have you thought about the actual moment when you meet Sonia, what it's gonna be like?

I have.

I just want to put my arms around her and give her, you know, a really good hug and squeeze and... You know, it's gonna be just amazing for me.

You know, just delighted to have her in my life now.

This outcome, it's just had a massive change in me already, and people close to me have said that, "This weekend, you've seemed a different person."

-Really?

-That quickly.

Yeah.

-That is... -It's like something's lifted.

I felt a sort of sense of peace and wholeness and satisfaction in a way that I haven't ever felt.

[driver] There we are, gentlemen.

[Davina] The siblings are going to meet at a pub just a mile away from where their mother left them.

Thanks, Nicky.

-Good luck.

-Thanks for your help.

How are you feeling?

My heart's going 100 miles an hour now.

[Davina] Well, this is where I'm gonna say goodbye.

So, good luck.

-Okay.

Bye, Davina.

-Mmm.

-Your brother's... -Okay.

-...in there and up the stairs.

-Thank you.

[sentimental music playing] -Hi, John.

-Hello.

Oh.

It's okay.

[crying] I've thought about you since I was 18.

[John sniffs] And I think I've loved you ever since.

I just keep looking at this.

Said you've got hair.

I'm so glad I've found you.

-Yeah, I can't believe this.

-[laughs] -Do you want to sit?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-Sorry.

I don't normally cry.

Of course you can cry.

[laughs] Was it a big shock for you?

Oh, it was.

I never knew you existed.

[laughs] I know.

And especially to find out that, you know, -I had younger sisters as well.

-I know.

So, we are a similar build, aren't we?

Yeah.

Even when I've, um, looked at-- saw younger pictures of myself.

Did you see, did you?

Yeah.

I could see the sort of likeness and... Give me your hands.

Tell ya, finding you... and having you... [voice breaking] in my life... Yeah, it's been quite a powerful thing.

Then when I-- when I read the kind words that you wrote, that you was looking forward to seeing me, just made me feel maybe a bit more wanted, if that's the right word, -and connected and... -Yeah.

For me, it's the beginning of ano-- you know, another happy chapter for me.

And I've got my big brother.

[laughter] 'Cause I've always, always wanted a brother.

Come here.

Come here.

[Sonia] I feel really excited.

That emotional connection's there.

It feels really different knowing that he's in my life and I can picture him.

[Sonia] That's part of my family, my brother.

I get to find out a lot more about you.

I'm looking forward to having this, you know, bigger family now and being part of it.

I feel delighted to finally meet someone that's related to me.

It's just, uh... amazing.

[laughs] And do you remember our mother at all, or...?

No, I have no memory.

But I'm pretty sure if our mother could see us now, she'd be proud in her own way.

[John] Hmm.

I still want to search for my mother, and that's unquestionable.

If we can track down our mother, it'll be another amazing experience.

[John] So, I'm looking forward to helping her.

Yeah, it feels really good.

[Sonia] Connection, warmth, love.

Smiles.

[laughs] Yeah, at long last.

[Davina] Next time on Long Lost Family... A man longing to find the father he's never met.

I just want my dad to be proud of me.

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

And a search for the youngest birth mother we've ever come across.

[woman] She was a child herself, having to make adult decisions.

It must have just been awful.

[peaceful music playing]