[man] Can you find my son?

It would mean the world.

[woman] The main thing I would love him to know is he was wanted.

[Davina] In the last year, over 4,000 people from across the UK have contacted the "Long Lost Family" team... Do you know what her full name would be?

...asking us to find their missing family.

He was a beautiful little baby.

He's lost and we want him back.

I just want to say sorry.

A girl can make one mistake, and I was her mistake.

[Nicky] Using trained intermediaries, DNA experts and investigators all over the world...

Please check this name.

...we find people... -Donna.

-Hello.

...nobody else could trace.

They loved you, and they still love you.

We uncover incredible family secrets.

Why would they be faked?

This was her dying wish.

Really?

So she wanted it?

[Davina] And answer questions that have haunted entire lives.

-We have found him.

-Oh, thank you!

-Ooohhh!

-[laughing] It's like I've swallowed sunshine.

[all] Hello!

Oh, my God!

[Davina] This week, a search that begins with one discovery... [woman] It's hard to imagine that something so small as just those few words could carry so much power.

...reveals answers for more people than expected... [Davina, on phone] We have got a bit of news for you about your search.

[Davina] ...and leads to layers and layers of family.

She's been looking for you.

[gasps] [dramatic music rising] Our search begins with a woman looking for two people missing from her life.

[peaceful music playing] [gulls calling] -[pan sizzling] -[woman] Right, are you gonna have a go at stirring that?

-[boy] I'm doing a good job.

-You're doing an awesome job, darling.

Fifty-three-year-old Kate Brown lives with her husband Ray and her eight-year-old son Alexander.

We didn't think that we were gonna be blessed.

-We like lots of onions, don't we?

-We sure do.

We got to that age and thought we haven't been lucky enough.

He's totally a miracle baby.

[Kate] You give Mummy a kiss?

-No, that's not fair!

-[Kate laughing] [Kate] I treasure us as a family so much because I felt like I haven't had a close family when I was growing up.

When Kate was just five days old, her birth mother left.

[Kate] I didn't know my birth mother, but I knew that she didn't want me.

I've felt rejected.

Kate's mother suffered from a severe form of epilepsy and was unable to look after her.

So Kate was fostered by Jim and Irene Barter who had three children of their own.

[Kate] You do feel different being fostered.

You don't feel like you're a real part of the family.

You feel like you're an add-on.

But there was someone that Kate felt a connection with.

[Kate] John was fostered as well, in the same house.

He wasn't a blood relative, but he and I were close.

At school, if anyone tried to pick on me, he was the one that would be there to stick up for me or whatever.

He was quite a cheeky one, yeah.

Yeah, he was great.

He was the closest thing that I had to real family.

I got the impression that he loved me.

[Davina] Kate was eventually adopted by the Barters, but the same wasn't true for John.

Unfortunately he was maybe a little bit too much for my adoptive mum to be able to handle.

He was moved back into a children's home.

And I just remember that he wasn't there.

John was gone, out of my life.

[Davina] John's absence had a huge impact on Kate.

[Kate] I lost my brother, my mate.

I used to be envious of friends who had sisters or brothers 'cause they always seemed so close.

It would have been nice to have been, to have been that close to someone.

Despite years of searching for John, Kate was unable to discover anything about his fate.

Her search turned to her own past, and just two years ago, when she saw her adoption file, she discovered he wasn't the only person missing from her life.

[Kate] Everything just stopped.

It just stopped.

It was surreal to read that I actually had a sister.

As far as I was concerned it was just me.

I didn't have any idea that there would be anybody else.

It's hard to imagine that something so small as just those few words could carry so much power.

[Davina] Kate's sister, Maxine, was born three years before Kate and was also adopted.

"It was felt that ideally both you and your sister being placed together was the best outcome.

However, this did not happen."

There's frustration as to why we weren't kept in contact.

It would have saved so much heartache.

She's gonna have gone through what I've gone through.

And she is a part of me.

Now Kate is desperate to find both the foster brother she knew and the sister she never knew.

[Kate] I lost my brother, and to now find that I've lost my sister too...

They are both missing.

There's a hole, there's a hole there.

I need to find them.

[Nicky] Using a specialist intermediary, we took on searches for both Kate's foster brother, John, and her sister, Maxine.

Initial record checks brought up nothing for a John Newham, but our intermediary did find Maxine, whose name had been changed when she was adopted.

She was now called Rebecca Rhodes.

But we also uncovered something else we could never have expected.

She too lived in Portsmouth.

Seemingly, the sisters had spent their lives in the same city just streets apart.

We made contact with Rebecca, known as Becky, and I arranged to meet her.

[doorbell rings] Becky has four grown-up daughters and four grandchildren.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Becky.

-Hello.

Nice to meet you.

-Are you okay?

-Yes.

Yeah.

Come in.

[Nicky] Let's talk.

Very nice to meet you too.

How much of a surprise was it to know that your sister's been looking for you?

A massive surprise.

It is an amazing feeling.

I was really shocked to think she actually knows I'm out here and she wants to find me.

Because I've been searching for her.

-You have searched for her?

-Yeah.

Soon as I was sort of an adult and allowed to start looking, I thought, "I'm gonna see if I can find her."

-Mm.

-I went through quite a few different agencies, but I took it that it was the adoption laws that stopped me actually having physical contact with her.

I just thought that was it.

And I just sort of thought, well, she's probably got her life now, she's... she may not even know that I exist, is what I kept thinking.

Well, she didn't for a long time.

Not until recently when she accessed her adoption papers.

Oh, wow!

And she probably must have felt really alone.

It's quite sad really.

So you knew you had out there somewhere a birth mother and a birth sister.

Did you think about your birth mother?

I thought first about my sister.

Kate was more important to find because she's sort of part of me... and hasn't, hadn't given me up, if you know what I mean.

So that's why first of all I tried looking for her.

It was only because where I couldn't find her that I switched and thought, "Well, I'll try my birth mother, maybe that'll help."

-And that's how I found Pamela.

-You found your birth mother?

-I found my birth mother while I was looking for my sister!

-Did you meet her?

I went and visited her a few times, just before she passed away.

It was quite daunting actually.

But I'm glad I met her.

What did she say about Kate?

She did say to me, "Do you know you've got a sister?

Have you managed to find her yet?"

Then she said that the reasons that she gave us both up was because she couldn't look after us 'cause she had a lot of health problems.

I think she wished things would have been a lot different.

She did the best thing for me.

She really did give me a good start in life by not keeping me herself.

-But you had a happy childhood?

-Yeah.

Couldn't have wished for a better childhood.

Full of love.

But I've always thought, do I look like her?

Do you want to see a photograph?

I'd love to, yeah.

[laughs] [gasps] Oh, my God!

Oh, wow!

Oh!

Oh, she looks lovely.

So is Kate married?

Kate lives at home with her husband Ray and her 8-year-old son.

Does she live near?

-In Portsmouth.

-In Portsmouth?

She's written you a letter.

-There you are.

-[Becky] Thank you.

Oh, she writes like me!

[laughs] -Can you share it?

-Yeah, yeah.

"Hi, your sister here.

This must seem so surreal.

It certainly does to me.

I can remember at times through my childhood feeling alone and wishing for a sister who was actually related to me, by blood I mean.

So I'm sure you can imagine what a shock it was to find out that I actually do.

I hope we can meet up.

I'm looking forward to a good chat.

There's a lot to catch up on.

Your sister, lol!"

[chuckles] Lol.

That's brilliant.

That's amazing.

Can't wait to meet up.

Got lots to talk about, lots to catch up on.

[Davina] With the search for Kate's foster brother John ongoing, we decided to update Kate about her sister.

Having discovered that her birth mother has died, we told Kate this news off camera.

Today I can tell her that Becky has been looking for over 30 years and can't wait to meet her.

-Hi.

-Hello!

-How you doing, Kate?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-Aww, it's lovely to meet you.

-Come on in.

[Davina] Thank you.

Thanks very much.

Firstly, I'm sorry your birth mother's not with us anymore.

[Kate] No.

But what was it like to find out that you had an older sister so late in life?

It was incredible, yeah.

[laughs] Something that I'd always wanted when I was younger.

I wanted someone to share all those secrets and someone to talk to about things and someone I could just check in with.

And my adoptive mother wasn't someone that I could go and talk to.

So there wasn't a female in my life that I could do that with.

I felt totally alone.

Well, your sister's been found.

[gasps] She's been looking for you.

-Oh, really?!

-Yeah.

[laughs] Oh, that's amazing.

Oh!

Oh, I'm shaking everywhere right now.

[laughs] And she wants to see me?

She really wants to see you.

Does she?

[gasps] Oh, wow!

She started looking when she was 18.

-Really?

-Mm.

Wow!

Is she still called Maxine?

-She's not.

-[laughs] -She's called Becky.

-Becky!

What a lovely name.

Does she live near me?

She lives three miles away.

[gasps] Oh, no!

[laughing] Oh, that is amazing.

[laughs] Does she look a lot like me?

Have you got anything...?

Have you?

Can I see?

[laughing] This is your sister.

[gasps] Wow!

Hi, Becky.

What do you see?

[Kate] I can see me.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

So she's also written you a few words.

Oh, wow!

Thank you.

"Dear Kate, I've often thought about this moment but never thought it would actually happen.

As soon as I was old enough to understand, my mum told me that I had a younger sister.

Since then I have often wondered what it would be like to actually find you and to be the same as someone else."

[gasps] Oh, wow, she feels the same as me!

"I did manage to find our birth mother, Pamela, and we spoke about you often."

Oh.

"I've grown up full of love but knowing you were out there, a piece of me was missing.

Sitting here now writing this letter, knowing that years of wondering will soon become reality.

Your big sister, Becky."

Oh!

-She feels the same as me.

-She does.

She'll be able to tell you more about your birth mother when you meet her.

I'm looking forward to hearing what she found out... -Yeah.

-...about Pamela.

Part of me can't really believe that something so brilliant is actually happening.

I've got a family!

[laughs] -It's big.

-Is it?

Becky's got four girls.

Oh, man!

[laughing] Oh, great!

I haven't had women in my life and now there's so many, it's amazing.

And she's got Alexander now which will be nice for her, a boy.

She's got a boy, yes.

-Her nephew.

-Yeah.

[gasps] Oh, he's gonna have a lovely family.

-Oh!

That's great.

-And just to let you know, we haven't forgotten about the search for John.

That's still ongoing.

-We're working on that.

-Thank you.

Thanks.

[Kate, whispering] This is your Auntie Becky.

-Wow!

-[Alexander] My Auntie Becky!

-[Kate] She looks like mummy.

-[Ray] Two peas in a pod.

That is amazing!

It's fantastic, isn't it?

[Kate] It is pretty awesome, isn't it?

And Mummy's gonna get to meet her.

[Ray] Mmm!

[gulls squawking] [Davina] Kate Brown has been longing to find both her foster brother John, who she grew up with, and her sister Becky, who she's never met.

We're still looking for John, but after a lifetime apart, Kate's now meeting Becky.

I get to see my sister today!

[laughing] I can't wait to see her.

Who's that?

That's your auntie.

[child babbling] Auntie, Auntie Kate.

-[child] Auntie Kate!

-Yeah.

I didn't sleep much last night.

I was quite sort of, kept waking up and thinking, "Hope it all goes all right."

And I just hope I'm what she's expecting, really.

Do they look the same?

Look.

They've got the same smile and same hair.

-[child] Ha!

-All those years of looking for her and then you've finally found her.

Oh, Mum!

-I love you.

-Love you too.

-Hi!

-Hiya!

-You ready?

-Yeah.

All right, let's go.

-So how you feeling?

-Very nervous.

[Davina] Yeah.

I bet.

[Kate] Very nervous, yeah.

-And excited.

-Mm.

[doorbell rings] -Becky.

-Hiya.

-You ready?

-Yeah.

Let's go.

[Davina] Kate and Becky are meeting at a local restaurant close to where they both live.

[Kate] To see the words "big sister" on her letter to me was... awesome!

[laughing] How many times have you read the letter?

Er, about six.

[laughs] Maybe eight.

[both laughing] [Nicky] Not long until you see your sister.

I can't believe after all this time, it's finally here.

-And she means a lot to you.

-Oh, yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

'Cause she's my sister.

My baby sister.

We've come to the final bit that I've been waiting for.

What you've both been waiting for.

Yeah.

Definitely.

-Okay?

-Okay.

-All right?

-Yeah.

You're gonna meet your sister in that building down there.

Oh, wow!

[laughs] This is where I say goodbye.

Um, good luck.

Thank you.

And your sister's in there.

Thank you.

-Hello.

-Hi.

How are you?

Hello.

[laughs] [sighs] -Well.

-[both laughing] You look like me!

Yeah.

I can't believe it.

I used to dream about having a sister.

It was a little bit lonely.

Oh.

So to find out...

I had a sister, time stopped still.

-[laughs] -Hmm.

-It was amazing.

-Oh!

It was so nice to find out that you were looking for me.

Soon as I was old enough to understand... -Yeah.

-...my mum said that, "You've got a sister."

-For me it's just been a couple of years.

-Yeah.

-And it was one hell of a shock.

-I know.

When I first saw your picture, I was thinking, "I'm sure I've seen her before."

But I wasn't sure if it was because I'd seen you around or because you look so much like me that-- I said exactly the same, 'cause you look even more like me in life than you do in the picture.

-Yeah.

-[laughing] [Kate] I still can't believe it.

Fifty years has gone and Becky was there.

My sister was there.

It was amazing.

I think she's lovely.

She is lovely.

Even though we are strangers, it's like she's my sister.

No more wondering.

Well, she's finally here.

Have you seen any pictures of our birth mum?

-No.

-Oh, you haven't at all?

-I was gonna ask if you had any.

-Yeah, I've got a photograph.

That's Pamela.

Wow!

-That's amazing.

-Yeah.

[Becky] I think Pamela would have been pleased to know that we're both happy.

She wanted us to have a good life.

Lovely woman, really lovely.

And your name cropped up in quite a few of the visits.

She just felt that obviously she wasn't healthy enough when she first had us.

-Mm.

-And she wanted us to have a good life, so... -That's nice.

-So she did the best thing, really.

Yeah.

[Becky] It was great to hear that Pamela was talking about me and that she obviously still thought about me, um, and cared.

You're my big sister!

-I know.

-Can I have another hug?

Yeah.

[laughing] Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

[Becky] All she wanted was a sister.

Well, she's got one now.

[laughs] Today is the start of our lives together.

[Kate] I do feel different.

I feel a connection with Becky, and I feel a sense of belonging.

[Davina] But though now she's met her birth sister, Kate's search for her missing foster brother John continues.

[Nicky] Although we initially found a birth certificate, we couldn't find a John Newham of the right age living in the UK.

We checked John's records, but there was nothing.

It looked like John had disappeared.

So as a last resort we began contacting everyone with the right date of birth who had the Christian name John and his middle initial D. After months of searching and despite the outbreak of the Corona virus, finally we had a breakthrough.

We found a match for a John D. Bradley living in Fareham, just seven miles from where he would have been fostered by the Barter family.

We contacted him and John explained he'd changed his name by deed poll, but he was the John who'd grown up with Kate.

And he agreed to meet me.

Kate's separation from John left a massive hole in her life.

But does John feel the same?

Does he remember the little girl from his foster home all those years ago?

-Hiya, John.

-Hello, Nicky.

-Thanks for talking to me.

-That's okay.

-Can't shake your hand.

-I know.

-So was this all a huge surprise?

-Very huge surprise.

Very overwhelming.

It is overwhelming.

I'm glad that Kate's been trying to find me.

I know I used to look after her quite a bit.

I've got pictures of Kate when she was probably three.

-[Nicky] Have you?

-Yeah, yeah.

Well, I've had that book 45 years.

Does mean a lot to me, especially them pictures of her.

[Nicky] "On holiday with Mr. Barter and Kate."

-Yeah.

-[Nicky] That's you and Kate.

Yeah.

They're all of Kate.

-She'll love these.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So what was that foster family like, the Barters?

Mrs. Barter, she didn't want to adopt me.

She let me go.

She didn't adopt me.

We clashed too much, me and her.

I don't know why.

My mum couldn't look after me, apparently.

A couple of times, I'd see her, and I'd be back at the Barters' and I'd be back with my mum, and I'd be back at another foster parents up till the age of 16.

I was here, there and everywhere.

I mean, to think you weren't adopted, that must be a sad feeling sometimes?

Yeah, I suppose.

Sort of, black sheep.

All the other children around me were getting adopted and I was probably left out in the cold.

Did anyone love you?

Don't know.

Didn't know.

It's hard to... it's hard to say that when sometimes you don't know what love is.

And then life goes on.

You try and make the best of it you can.

And then all of a sudden one day you take a step back and think, "It would be nice to be part of a family."

"Stability" is the word, isn't it?

-You didn't have it?

-No.

No, no, no.

No, I didn't have that.

Shame, really.

Life could have been so much better.

Don't get me wrong, I've got two lovely kids.

I wouldn't change them for the world, you know.

Kate says you're the closest thing to a brother that she's ever had.

I would have classed her as a sister as well.

Now this is good, the fact that Kate has wanted to find you.

Oh, brilliant.

Overwhelmed.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, very much so.

Straight out of the blue that came, and it was like, wow.

I'd love to see her.

She's done something really nice, she's come to find me.

-Do you wanna see Kate now?

I've got a picture.

-Yeah, go on.

Aw, look at her!

Look at her, look.

All right, sis?

[laughs] All right.

Ah, bless her.

[Nicky] So she's married to Ray and she's got one son, Alexander.

And she lives ten miles from here.

From here?!

Really?

Whoa!

Kate recently found out that she had a sister, Becky, and then she found Becky and she met her, and that's been brilliant for Kate.

It's given her a real sense of belonging.

And thinking about you, does it make you think more about your birth family?

Yeah, yeah.

I think I had a half-sister.

You think there's a half-sister?

Susan her name was, Susan Newham.

Would you like us to launch a search?

That would be brilliant if you could do that.

Yeah, I'd love to see if you could find out something for me.

But I've got Kate now.

Yeah, so everything's, everything's, um, yeah, a bonus.

Never had any family before.

It's what I need in my life.

[Nicky] Kate's search may finally be over.

For John, it's only just beginning.

[Davina] Often on "Long Lost Family," we hear from people searching for a blood relative.

But there's another type of formative relationship, that of a foster family member.

And Kate Brown came to us looking for both.

Kate has already met with her sister Becky, and now I can tell her that her foster brother John has been found too.

-Hi.

-Hello.

Lovely to see you again.

-Yeah, and you.

-So how have you been?

Have you had a chance to see your sister at all in the flesh?

We've seen quite a lot of each other.

Oh, that's so lovely.

We're on a chat room with her family and... -Oh, my goodness!

-Yes.

You had talked to me about finding John, your foster brother.

Can you explain to me a little bit about what he meant to you?

Because it's very different for us to hear about a foster brother.

He was, he was the closest thing I had to, um, blood family, um, when I was growing up.

He was the one that understood me, that I understood.

We played together, we got on together, we loved each other.

But I do feel, I just feel so sad that he went into... back into care, and he must have felt, he must have felt so alone.

It just... Just thinking about how he must have felt really upsets me.

Did you know what happened?

It seemed like one day everything was okay and the next day John was gone.

And that's worried you ever since?

It has.

And I've missed him.

Yeah.

Well, he's been found.

[gasps] Amazing.

[laughs] Oh, that's amazing!

Oh!

And does he want to meet me?

He really wants to meet you.

[laughing] I can't believe it!

That's amazing.

Is he okay?

He's good.

He's had a tough life.

It was hard.

-He never got adopted.

-Got you.

And so he stayed in the care system until he was 16 and then he left.

And just sort of fended for himself.

Oh!

I feel guilty that he's... he had... he had to go into the home.

I feel guilty that I got to stay.

The biggest thing for him was you came looking.

That means so much to him.

-Oh.

-Yeah.

-He's okay now?

-He's okay now.

Good.

He has got two kids.

[gasps] Fantastic.

His daughter is 19, Eva-May, and he's got a 12-year-old son called Frankie.

Oh, brilliant.

Oh, I'm pleased.

Whereabouts is he?

He's in Fareham.

-No!

-Yes!

-Oh, man!

[laughing] -[Davina] Ten miles away.

-I've got a picture of him if you'd like to see.

-Yes, please.

I've been waiting!

Thank you.

Wow!

Hi, John.

Gee whiz!

[Davina] Is he how you remember him?

[Kate] He is, yeah.

I can't wait to see him.

I've been so lucky in that I've managed to find Becky and now John as well.

It's... it's unbelievable.

He does feel like a brother.

Wow, we've got a lot to talk about.

[Nicky] Since we met John, we wanted to help him find birth family too.

So we launched a search for his half-sister on his mother's side, Susan.

Sadly, the first thing we found were death records for John's birth mother and uncle.

Although there was no mention of a sister, these led to the discovery of a cousin.

When we spoke to John's cousin, he told us that he knew of somebody even more closely related to John.

And he put us in touch with the very person we were looking for -- John's half-sister, now known as Sue.

I've arranged to meet her close to where she lives in London.

-How you doing, Sue?

-I'm all right.

-It's lovely to see you.

-And you.

-Have a seat.

-Thank you.

-[chuckles] -Oh, my goodness me.

Was this a shock, finding you had a brother?

I mean, to be honest I was a bit shocked because I didn't think my mum had any other children other than me.

So were you brought up by your birth mother?

No.

I was adopted.

By my dad's brother and his wife.

Why was your biological father not involved?

Because he was in the Army and couldn't come out the Army, so he wanted me to be adopted 'cause my mum wrote to my dad and said, "I don't want the baby," so my Dad asked his brother if he would foster me first.

Because your brother John, the brother you didn't know about, he was put into care when he was seven weeks old.

So there's a pattern there from your birth mother, from John's birth mother, isn't there?

-Yeah.

-So did you ever meet your birth mother?

No.

She sadly passed away in 2002.

I've got a photo of my mum if you'd like to see her?

Yes, I'd love to.

There's a photograph of our birth mother there.

[Nicky] Right.

So what kind of woman was she?

[Sue] I think she's missed out a hell of a lot in life.

-Do you feel sorry for her?

-I do and I don't.

See, me being a mum, I couldn't do what she's done.

But she might have had her reasons, you don't know, 'cause she's not here to defend herself anyway or to tell anyone.

John was never adopted and he spent his childhood up to the age of 16 being passed around with different families, care homes.

Yeah.

[Sue] I think it's really sad.

-I feel for him.

-Do you?

Yeah.

I do.

He's the one that's nearest my age.

He would have been the one that I'd have probably been the closest to if I'd known about him, you know.

-I do, I feel for him.

-He just wanted someone to love him.

Yeah.

Well, I'll try and love him if he wants me to.

I've got a picture of him.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

[Sue] Thank you.

Oh, bless him.

Awww!

A sweetie.

He's got my eyes.

Yeah.

And the lips, I think.

I would really love to just give him a cuddle.

"Welcome to the family," is what I would love to say to him.

Honestly, because I think he deserves to have a nice family.

And I just want him to be happy.

And hopefully he can be happy with all of us.

[Davina] For more than a year, we've been searching for Kate Brown's foster brother John.

The pair were separated as children over 40 years ago, and today they're going to be reunited.

All these years, I've missed a lot of her life.

But now she's come looking for me.

John's spent a lifetime in care, not knowing any birth family, so we took on a search on his behalf for his half sister, Sue.

Before he meets Kate, I want to tell him the results.

[ringtone chiming] -[Davina] John, hi.

-Hello, Davina.

I just wanted to say all the best and good luck meeting Kate this morning.

-Thank you.

-And, but I also wanted to let you know that we have got a bit of news for you about your search.

And... what...?

We have found your sister.

Have you?

I've got a real sister?

Yeah, you have.

-Is, um, is she happy?

-She is.

-She's so happy to be found.

-Oh, that's brilliant.

And in fact she even said she wants to be a big sister to you.

I'm shaking like a leaf!

[laughing] I'm shaking like a leaf.

And the best of it's yet to come, I've got to meet Kate soon.

I know!

Today's gonna be momentous.

You take care of yourself.

I will.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Lots of love.

-And you.

You take care.

-Bye, John.

I've got a sister.

I've got a sister.

In fact I've got two now.

Now I've got more of a family.

It's brilliant.

Brilliant.

[Davina] And the first of his two new sisters to meet is John's foster sister, Kate.

[Kate] It's been so long, and I just wanna tell him that I've missed him and that I'm sorry that he was left on his own.

'Cause I feel like I need to say sorry.

All right, honey?

-See you later.

-Hope it goes well.

-[Kate] Bye.

-Love you.

Kate and John are gonna meet at a pub near where they grew up together.

[John] Very excited about meeting Kate.

She is family, really.

I haven't seen her for 46 years.

[Kate] John is my childhood.

He's my happy memories.

So I'm looking forward to reliving them with him.

And then we can move on and make some good memories and get up to more mischief together.

-Hello, sis.

-Hiya.

-Long time no see!

-All right?

-How have you been?

-All right, thanks.

-How are you?

-Overwhelmed.

-I can't give you a hug.

-I know, I know.

Same as that, take a seat.

How have you been?

Yeah, I'm all right, thanks, darling.

Seeing her, a lot of elation.

She hasn't changed much, not at all.

[Kate] Seeing John, that is the John I remember.

It felt just, just like it did when we were children.

I missed you so much.

I felt awful when you went back into care.

'Cause you were on your own.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-I felt awful.

It just seemed like, I was here, there and everywhere at that time.

You were a little kid that was put into a home on your own with no one.

-Nothing.

-Absolutely no one.

-But I've done all right.

-You have.

You're here.

That's exactly that.

Great to see you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I've got something for you there.

[John] Oh, thank you.

Oh!

[Kate] "I smile because you're my brother.

I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it!"

That's brilliant.

Thanks for finding me.

[Kate] I want to look after him.

And it must be my way of trying to make up for all those years when he didn't have the love there.

But he's part of my family now.

I've got a book here that you can... it's my life story, but it only goes up to the age of 10.

There you go.

The pictures are...

There is us.

[Kate gasps] Wow!

Yes!

I remember, that would have been at Havant Road.

How brilliant.

Cor, we were cute, weren't we?

You used to stick up for me.

I know I did, and I still will now.

Ah, bless you.

It was like I'd left her from years ago.

It seemed like we had so much in common.

-I heard you found your sister.

-Our sister.

'Cause now you obviously inherit my sister as well.

-Becky?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-I've got to go and meet mine.

-You've got a sister as well?

Yeah.

Susan.

Davina rang me this morning.

You can be like me, suddenly your family goes poof!

-It's awesome.

-I would love to hug you.

[Kate laughs] We can have a hug; when we're able to, we can have a hug then.

I never ever thought that I'd see you.

-It's looking to the future that makes me happy.

-Yeah.

[Kate] My life has turned round.

I not only know I've got a sister, now I've got a chance to have a relationship with John, who I never ever dreamed that I would find again.

And that's just amazing.

[Davina] But it's not quite the end of the story for John.

He still has his birth sister to meet.

[gulls crying] Today, John is seeing Sue for the very first time.

I'm so happy, bit overwhelmed as well.

But really looking forward to it.

I will feel very happy when I see her, I know that.

Sue has travelled down to Portsmouth from London.

[Sue] Everyone's entitled to have a good family and a good upbringing, but John, obviously he didn't get one, so...

I'd like to show him what a family is all about.

My heart's going actually quite fast.

[laughs] I can't wait for him to come through the door right now.

-Hello, Sue.

-Hello, John.

You all right?

Not too bad, thanks.

Yourself?

I'm all right.

Do you wanna sit down?

Love to.

-Do you want a tea?

-Yes, please.

Go on then, I'll make you a tea.

So how are we?

You all right?

I'm all right now.

Oh, good, good.

It's been brilliant that I've got a sister.

Yeah, because I've never had anyone else, you know.

I just had four or five children's homes and foster parents.

And that was it basically, up to the age of 16.

-But I'm all right now.

-Oh, that's good.

-I got adopted.

-Did you?

-Yeah.

I never even met our mum.

-Did you not?

No.

But I've got a picture for you, though.

There she is there.

Oh, wow!

Aw, bless her.

That's the only picture that I have.

I don't really know that much about her, to be fair.

I didn't even know that I had a brother, to be honest.

-I can see you're just like me.

-Yeah.

It's like I've known you for ages, and ages and ages.

-It's good.

-Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

It is good.

Very, very good.

I really felt like I had a connection with John today.

'Cause he's gone all this time where he's thought he's on his own, and really and truly he's not on his own now, is he?

I wanna be the big sister he never had.

[John] Feel loved.

Yeah.

Now I've got a sister, better innit?

Well, I've got two now.

It's brilliant.

[peaceful music playing]