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

[woman] Forty years has gone by.

I'm hoping somewhere he's thinking of us.

[man] An unwanted baby that was thrown away.

You think that all the way through your life, this is why you're adopted.

[woman] I'd like to try and make her understand why I had to do what I did.

[Davina] All too often, the years of searching lead nowhere.

Well, this is the series that steps in to help, offering a last chance to people desperate to find long lost family.

Have you found him!?

Oh!

Oh, Mum, that's amazing!

We've been looking for so many years.

Don't cry, babe.

He lives in Cape Town.

No way.

So we both ended up in South Africa.

Our searches have uncovered family secrets and taken us all over the world, finding people that no one else has been able to trace.

He wants to know who you are and he wants to know who he is.

[woman] I look in the mirror, I was like, "Who are you?"

And now I can see.

[Davina] And finally, answering questions that have haunted entire lives.

[sighs] I've waited 58 years for this, don't move.

[Davina] This week on "Long Lost Family"... two stories of women who've spent a lifetime searching for the truth.

A daughter who's lived in hope that she was given away by her mother for the right reasons.

[woman] She had to make that decision to give me the best life that she could and I, I understand that.

And a search for a sister who was kept secret for over 30 years.

What would we have been like if I had met her at least?

I just want to know her.

[dramatic music playing] [peaceful music playing] Our first search starts in Laindon in Essex and a woman who, despite never knowing her birth mother, has always been convinced of a special bond between them.

Hello, all right?

Forty-eight-year-old mother of three Anne Clegg has been trying to find her birth mother for nearly 20 years.

[Anne] She had me for six weeks.

She bonded with me, she breastfed me, she kept me close to her.

And I believe that she did really, really love me.

[contemplative music playing] Anne was born in 1963 and adopted by an Essex couple when she was a baby.

[Anne] It was a happy childhood.

My mum and dad were, were lovely, lovely people, and they gave me and my brother the best they could.

It was only when Anne was 11 that her parents told her that they were not her natural mum and dad.

[Anne] My mum sat us down in the living room and said, "There is something you need to know, and I think that you're old enough now to understand that you was both adopted."

I was like, "Ooh, what happened?

What were the reasons that I'm not with my birth mum or dad?"

And she was like, "Well, you was born in London, but that's all you need to know."

Anne had to wait until she was 19 and a mother herself before her parents gave her the few documents they had relating to her adoption.

It said my biological birth mum's name, which was Janet Lee.

It said that my mum was only 17 when she actually got pregnant with me.

-[man] There we go.

-Despite having these facts about her birth mother, Anne resisted searching for her out of loyalty to her adoptive mum.

[Anne] She did say to me, "Anne, you can take this information and if you want to carry on, it's down to you."

But I felt guilt.

I felt that... it was like, you know, betrayal to my mum.

It was another ten years before Anne felt ready to look for her birth mother.

Hoping that clues to her whereabouts would be contained in her adoption file, she arranged to see the documents.

[Anne] I remember the lady coming out with the file, and she said, "I want you to sit down," 'cause I was shaking, I was so nervous, I was emotional.

I had very mixed feelings of what was gonna be in this file.

The file revealed very little information about Anne's mother Janet, other than her date of birth and a brief description of her character and appearance.

But there was one detail that Anne has clung to for nearly 20 years as evidence that her birth mother loved her.

[Anne] She'd asked my adoptive mum if my adoptive mum would send her some pictures of me.

And my adoptive mum did.

But she had to make that decision... to give-- to give me the best, best life that she could, and I-- I understand that.

Believing that her birth mother's request for photographs of her as a baby was proof of her love for her, Anne's search turned to her mother's last known address in a North London suburb.

[Anne] Having the address of my birth mum on the original birth certificate did give me a connection.

I can go back and see the house.

-[Anne] Thank you.

Bye-bye.

-[woman] Bye-bye.

[Davina] This was where Janet was living at the time Anne was born in 1963, and despite it being a nearly 50-year-old lead, it's all Anne had to go on.

[Anne] So I knocked at the door.

A lovely lady came out.

I explained to her that 48 years ago this house there was where my biological mum lived, and that if she knew anything about the history of my mum...

But Anne was told they knew nothing about a Janet Lee.

After trying everything she could to find her mother, Anne has now turned to us for help.

Although it seemed we had enough to go on to start our search, with the name of Anne's mother and her date of birth, when we looked, we found more than a hundred Janet Lees that matched the profile.

With such a common name, we needed more to go on.

So we went back to Anne's adoption file to see if there were any other clues that might help us narrow down the search for our Janet Lee, and something caught our eye.

"The girl's mother is a North Country woman."

That must mean Janet's mother.

"She hails from Southport and her family have joined to try to restart the girl in the north, and she has a flat to go to in Southport.

I think this will be a great help to her and to the whole family."

Of course, there was no guarantee that Janet would have moved back to Southport as suggested, but we revisited our list of Janet Lees and discovered one who had married in Southport in 1966 to a Mr. Wilks.

Could this be the woman we were looking for?

But a search of the electoral rolls for our Janet Wilks drew a blank.

We could only assume she had remarried and changed her name.

So we went back to the marriage records and discovered that in 1986 Janet did remarry to a Michael Cullen.

Using her new surname, we eventually traced Janet to an address in Southport.

We contacted her and she confirmed she was Anne's birth mother and had indeed moved to Lancashire after giving Anne up for adoption.

This is the road.

She's lived there ever since and gone on to have three other daughters.

Janet agreed to meet me to talk about Anne.

Anne's got such a strong belief that her mum really loved her and never wanted to give her up.

But is she right?

Did Janet bond with her when she was a baby?

Or did she just bury her emotions, forget about the past and move on with her life?

-Janet.

-Hi, Nicky.

Nicky.

How are you?

Oh, I'm so pleased to meet you.

-Come in.

-Thank you very much.

-It's freezing out there.

-It is cold.

So when you found out that Anne was looking for you...

I was so thrilled because...

I was beginning to think, I mean she's 48, and as each year goes past, you start to think it's not gonna happen.

So did you think, in your heart of hearts, that one day you would be reunited with your daughter?

Oh, you never stop thinking that, Nicky.

You never, ever, ever give up hope.

-How old were you?

-I was 16 when I had Anne and I was 17 four days after.

I have a young sister, she was only five, um, six at the time when this was happening, and my mother was struggling, really struggling to maintain us, um, and we were living, we were living in a bedsit.

Was Anne's father any support whatsoever at any stage?

It was never mentioned that we would marry or anything like that.

He was told in no uncertain terms that this, this is what will happen, Janet will now go away.

-Into a mother and baby home?

-Mother and baby home, yeah.

-How long were you there?

-I had her with me for six weeks.

And I fed her four hourly and changed her nappies and hugged her and kissed her and winded her and laid her down in her cot at night.

And then after six weeks, you know that the adoption dates come in.

They tell you about two days prior to it that your baby will be going.

And then you get her dressed in the clothes that you want her to go in, and wrap her up in the blanket and put her down in a cot and say your goodbyes.

And you have ten minutes, they give you ten minutes to say your goodbyes.

And then you're taken out of the room and you're put into the day room.

And they lock you in.

You want to battle past them and open the door and go and stop it from happening... but you can't.

You can't, Nicky, I couldn't take her home.

I didn't have anywhere to take her.

I didn't have any money.

My mother was living in the most dreadful situation, circumstances at the time.

I couldn't, I couldn't keep her.

That must have been so difficult.

It's absolutely terrible, and you go home and... you go home and you're supposed to forget that it ever happened.

And you have to walk away and leave your own baby... behind, and know that you're never, ever, ever gonna see them again.

And that-- it never leaves you.

That never, ever goes away.

She's my little girl.

[Nicky] One of the things that really made Anne believe that you, you loved her and had cared for her is that there had been a request for her photograph to be sent.

Yeah.

That meant so much to her.

It was a beautiful photograph of her.

And then showed it to my mum and she took it from me and she said, "I'll take care of that."

I never saw it again.

She took it away.

I think it's time that you saw a more recent photograph... of Anne.

[Janet] Oh, my God!

-[Nicky] There's Anne.

-[Janet gasps] Oh, my God!

Oh, she's smiling.

[sniffles] Oh, darling, I hope you've smiled all your life.

She's got my dimple.

Oh, wow.

You want to meet her?

I really, really desperately want to meet her.

I need to hold her.

[Davina] But before I tell Anne the news that her 20-year search for her mother is finally over... Our second search begins in Lancashire and a woman desperate to find the sister who was kept a secret from her for over 30 years.

[woman] For so many years, I didn't know about Maureen.

And I think, what would we have been like had we grown up together?

What would we have been like if I'd have met her at least?

I just want to know her.

Just want to meet her.

[Davina] Fifty-nine-year-old Fiona Dunn grew up in the 1960s in the northern mill town of Blackburn.

Throughout her childhood, she heard rumors that she was adopted but didn't confront her parents until she was a teenager.

[Fiona] I was in a row with me mum and I screamed at her and said, "Look, I know I was adopted and I know I'm not your child."

And I can remember the look on her face was a bit... a bit, you know, she was obviously taken back, shocked, and she said, "Right, come on, sit down, let's have a quick talk."

Fiona discovered that the woman she thought was her mum, Edith, was in fact her aunt.

She was told that she was actually the child of Edith's brother Bill and a woman he'd had an affair with.

[Fiona] I was told I was a mistake.

Mum made out that my birth mother was a bit of a good-time girl.

Comments like, uh, "Oh, look at that skirt up my backside, that's something like your mother would wear."

Whenever Fiona asked her adoptive parents about why she was given up for adoption, the response was always the same.

[Fiona] Everything was brushed under the carpet.

Any questions I had, things like, "Who was my mum?"

"What do you want to know her for?

She was called Pat."

Um, "Well, what was her last name?"

"Oh, what are you mythering, stop mythering me, I'm busy, I'm making tea."

I was always put off.

I felt a conspiracy 'cause nobody would speak about it.

And then I just gave up asking because nobody would tell me anything.

It wasn't until Fiona was 31 that the silence was finally broken and she was let into a secret that her family had been guarding for 30 years.

[Davina] Fifty-nine-year-old Fiona Dunn was adopted as a baby, but despite years of questions, the truth about her past was never discussed.

It wasn't until she was 31 that her paternal grandma let her into a family secret that had been kept hidden for 30 years.

[Fiona] We were sat chitting and chatting and gran said to me, "Maureen's coming for her tea on Friday, would you like to come?"

I said, "Who's Maureen?"

And she said, "It's your sister."

And I thought, did I hear that right?

So I said to her, "Who?"

She said, "Your sister."

I said, "I didn't know I had one."

And she said, "Yeah, it's your sister.

She's your natural sister.

You've got the same mum and dad."

Fiona's grandmother told her that after she was born, her natural parents had continued their affair and had had another child, Maureen.

But unlike Fiona, Maureen hadn't been given up for adoption and was raised by their mother.

[Fiona] I remember thinking, "I've got a sister and they've kept her but give me away."

That's all I kept thinking.

And I said, "No, I don't want to meet her.

No, I don't, thanks."

I think it was jealousy, a lot of jealousy because they kept her and gave me away.

It was a deep feeling of rejection I had.

And I could sit and just cry, and I'd just think, "You weren't wanted."

[contemplative music playing] Three months after telling her about Maureen, Fiona's grandma died.

At the funeral, Fiona saw her sister for the first and only time.

[Fiona] My mum just whispered in me earhole and said, "Oh, Maureen's over there."

And I just glanced up and noticed this girl at the back of the church.

And for that fleeting second I thought, "Oh, she looks like me."

And that's all I saw of her.

And we didn't speak, I didn't say "hiya" or nothing.

Do I regret it?

Yes, I do.

But I just couldn't at the time.

It's all a case of "if only."

If only I'd have gone to meet her.

Could have then perhaps gone on to meet my mother.

-[peaceful music playing] -[Davina] Nearly 30 years on and Maureen now believes it's too late for her to ever meet her birth mother.

I'd heard a rumor that my mother had died, you know, from me mum talking, perhaps to me dad, I don't know.

But I'd heard somewhere that my mother had died, and I thought, "Well, I wonder if, um, I can find Maureen."

But her family's silence over the years meant that she had little to go on other than her sister's name, Maureen Love.

Despite scouring the records, she's been unable to find her and can only assume she's married and changed her name.

With all leads exhausted, Fiona fears that by turning her back on Maureen that day in the church nearly 30 years ago, she'll never get to meet her sister.

Sad 'cause we've lost so many years of our lives that we could have perhaps had fun with.

I want to love her and just give her a cuddle and tell her I'll be there for her and say I'm sorry.

I just wanna tell her that.

[contemplative music playing] The fact that Fiona believes her mum has died could actually help us in the search for her sister Maureen.

Death certificates provide a wealth of information, including the name and address of the person who registered the death, usually a close relative.

In this case we hoped that would be Maureen.

But strangely, we could find no record of Fiona's mother's death.

Maybe she was still alive.

We decided to try and find Maureen in a different way.

Assuming she had got married, we sifted through the marriage records focusing our search on Lancashire, the county where she was born.

Eventually, we found a Maureen Love of about the right age marrying a Mr. Livesey in Lancashire in 1977.

It looked like we found the right Maureen.

When we contacted her, she confirmed she was Fiona's sister.

And she also told us that their mum is indeed still alive.

Maureen is now living in Preston, less than ten miles from Fiona.

She agreed to meet me to find out more about her sister.

But Maureen explained that her mother wasn't yet ready to talk about what was a very emotional time in her past.

Maureen has two sons but sadly was widowed six years ago.

For almost 30 years these feelings of jealousy and betrayal have separated Fiona from the sister she's never known.

But you can understand it.

To find out that you're adopted is hard enough, but then to go on and discover you've got a sister who wasn't given up for adoption... that must really hurt.

But what about Maureen?

What, if anything, has she been told about Fiona?

And after a lifetime apart, what does she feel about the sister who didn't want to meet her?

I've arranged to meet Maureen in a café near to where she lives.

This one here.

Hi.

How you doing?

I'm Nicky.

-Very nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

-Shall we go and have a cup of tea?

-Yes.

What's this been like, this whole surprise that Fiona was looking for you?

Oh... it's... wow, you know, because I didn't think she wanted to.

Why didn't you think she wanted to?

Tell me why not?

Because many years ago, um, I was putting grandma to bed and I asked her would Fiona meet me?

And the week after when I went back, me grandma said...

I said, "What did Fiona say?"

And, er, she said, "What does she want to meet me for?"

So I just took it as, er, Fiona never wanted to meet me.

When did you first discover that you had a sister?

-When I was 21.

-Twenty-one?

Yes.

Did you wonder what she might be like?

Oh, I did, yeah.

I did see her, when me grandma died.

-Your dad's mum.

-Yeah, me dad's mum.

And I so wanted to go over to her and talk to her.

I thought, well, I can't do.

I don't know what reaction I'm going to get.

-She did see you.

-Did she?

But at the time she wasn't ready for it because she felt resentment, she felt angry.

-The thing about being adopted is... -She would do.

...a lot of adopted people will say this, that there is, however happy your... your family and your situation and your adoptive parents, there's a little tiny thing of rejection.

Yeah.

And if...

I mean, she had that massively, obviously, because she knew, she knew the situation.

But do you know what?

She has regretted that.

-Has she?

-The rest of her life.

I do want to know her, she's me sister, you know, but, er... the circumstances, it wasn't to be.

What Fiona heard about your mother was not good.

Me mum's not a bad person.

She really regrets what happened.

Me grandma made me mum give her away.

Your mother's mother, your grandmother?

Yeah.

Me grandma dominated her.

And because me mum lived with me grandma, she was dependent on her, me mum had no choice.

How come, after giving one baby away, after having a baby with Bill, that she had to keep a baby that she had with Bill?

What, what's going on there?

Me mum doesn't even know because I've asked her.

She said, "I don't know why I could keep you and not Fiona."

She just... there was no communication in them days.

Nobody told you the reasons, you know.

So how did it affect you thinking about that, knowing that?

I've always felt guilty because I've always had my mum.

But she didn't.

You saw her once?

I saw her once, yeah.

I can't remember what she looks like.

Here she is.

Oh!

Oh, my goodness!

We're similar, aren't we?

My God, I can't believe that.

[Nicky] She's put some thoughts in a letter for you.

I'm shaking.

"Hello, Maureen.

I bet this is a surprise to receive a letter from me.

I have deeply regretted refusing grandma's offer to meet you and I hope I can make amends."

Oh!

"I never met our mother, but hopefully if we meet up, you can tell me about mum.

I truly hope that we get to meet each other.

I have lots of questions to ask as I am sure you have too.

Take care.

Fiona."

[Nicky] Lovely letter, isn't it?

Are you okay?

You all right?

You wanna meet her?

[Maureen] Oh, God, yeah.

-I can't wait.

-Can't wait?

No.

It's been too long.

[Davina] Forty-eight-year-old Anne Clegg has been searching for her birth mother, Janet, for 20 years.

After giving her up for adoption, Janet asked for pictures of her daughter to be sent to her.

Anne has always wanted to believe that this is proof of a special connection between them.

I'm on my way to Essex to go and break the news to Anne that we have found her mother Janet.

After years of hoping and searching, this is the news that she has been waiting for and I hope will give Anne final confirmation that her mother has indeed always loved her.

[peaceful music playing] [knock on door] -Hi, Anne.

-Hello, Davina.

-How are you?

-Lovely.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'm great.

-Thank you.

Please come in.

-Yes, yes.

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

Our team have been searching, but, you know, the name Janet Lee is quite common and there's nothing else to really go on, and I know that's the struggle that you've come across.

And obviously we struggled with that as well.

But we have found your mother.

And she's well.

And she's really happy that you got in touch.

I just still can't believe you're saying this to me.

-Isn't it brilliant?

-It's fantastic.

I can't describe how much it means to me.

It means so, so much.

She feels just like you do right now.

And she's happy?

-Would you like to see a picture?

-Oh!

You're sure?

Okay.

Oh, my God!

-Oh, she's beautiful.

-Isn't she lovely?

I have got a letter.

[Anne] I'll put my glasses on, Davina.

[Davina] Here.

I'll take the picture.

[Anne] Thank you.

"Dear Anne, this feels like a dream come true.

I can't begin to put on paper the feelings of complete... and wonderful joy I felt when I received the news that you had been searching for me.

Believe me, Anne, when I say you have never been far away from my thoughts.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Mum."

Oh, Davina!

[man] All right?

You all right?

-We found her!

-Really?

We found her!

I found... [man laughing] We found her!

You all right?

[contemplative music playing] [Davina] Today, nearly 50 years after they were separated, Anne and her mother will be reunited.

[Anne] I'm nervous.

It's like the day when I married Dad.

Like it's a wedding day getting ready again and it's just excitement and feeling so happy.

Hello.

Lovely to see you.

Anne wants to meet her mother in a seafront hotel on the Essex coast, a place where she spent many childhood holidays.

Thank you, darling.

Janet's travelled down to Essex from Lancashire with her husband Mike and is staying nearby.

I'll see you soon.

-Oh!

-Good luck.

Thank you.

-After you.

-I don't know how I would have done it without him.

-You need somebody with you, don't you?

-I do, yeah.

I would have, um... it's really nice.

I just can't believe how lucky I am, I'm so lucky.

I really am so very, very lucky because... oh, all these years, as every year goes past, you start to think it's not gonna happen, she's not gonna come looking for me and I really-- -[Nicky] And she has.

-Oh, I know.

I know.

I can't believe it.

It's... [Nicky] Now you're actually going to hold her again.

I'm gonna hug her.

I really, really can't wait to hug her.

[Anne] This is my day; this is the moment I've been waiting for for a long, long time, and I just want now for my birth mum to be a part of me and my family.

[peaceful music playing] [Nicky] Good luck.

[sighs] Thank you.

-[Davina] So we're very close now.

-[Anne] Yes.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

Excited.

-Nervous.

-Yeah, I bet.

-So I'm gonna let you go now.

-Thank you.

And you go and get a big hug off your mum.

I will.

Bye.

[Davina] Bye-bye.

[Anne sobbing] [Anne] Oh... darling.

You're beautiful.

Oh!

I thought this day would never come.

Anne, thank you, thank you so much for making it happen.

I'll really never be able to thank you enough.

I just wanted you to know that I totally understood.

It was just... there was just something, there's been something missing in my life, and finding my actual birth mum, she actually gave birth to me.

I can remember it like it was yesterday.

I just...

I was told that pictures were sent, which tell me that you obviously didn't stop ever loving me.

I never stopped loving you, darling, never.

I never stopped loving you, but I didn't get the pictures.

I got one, then that was taken from me.

Well, I've got loads.

I've actually found her, and she is everything I imagined her to be.

That one.

Oh, bless you.

[gasps] Oh, beautiful.

[Janet] I can't explain how light my heart is now.

From being heavy for all those years, now it's not anymore.

Really, really looking forward to having my daughter back in my life.

I've always loved you, darling.

I loved you from the moment you were born, and I still love you.

I found her, and I will never let her go.

And I'm just so, so, so happy!

[Davina] Fifty-nine-year-old Fiona Dunn was adopted as a baby, and it wasn't until she was 31 that she discovered she had a sister who'd been kept by their mother.

Told that her mother had died, Fiona has spent years trying to find her younger sister, Maureen.

Eventually, we not only traced Maureen, but incredibly discovered that their mother is still alive.

I'm on my way to tell Fiona the news, that we've found her sister.

I know she's going to be completely thrilled.

But by finding Maureen, we're also giving her the link to a missing side of her family.

And it's going to be up to Fiona, really, what she chooses to do with that.

Whether she chooses to delve into her past that's already caused her so much pain.

But for now, I'm delivering good news.

[doorbell rings] -Hello.

-Hey.

Hi.

-Come in, welcome.

-[kisses] How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-Good.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

[Davina] I know that in the past, your feelings towards your sister haven't always been like they are now.

-No.

-How and when did that change?

Probably when I got to the age of about 40, I started thinking, "She's your sister, she wasn't the one who gave me away," for want of a better word.

Well, we've found her.

Oh, no.

Oh, really?

Oh!

Oh!

Sorry, you've took my breath away.

You are delightful!

Oh, how marvelous.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Oh.

Oh!

Does she know that I'm looking for her?

-She knows.

-Is she willing to speak to me?

She'd love to speak with you.

Oh, brilliant!

Sorry.

I was hoping against hope that she would not refuse to see me.

She was incredibly moved to get your letter.

Was she?

She's got the letter already?

She's got the letter.

My goodness!

Oh.

-Would you like to see a picture?

-Oh, I would love to.

I would absolutely love to, yes, please.

It's... quite uncanny.

Really?

Is she like me?

Oh!

[gasps] Yes, she is!

Oh!

Oh, fantastic.

She's not as many wrinkles as me.

[laughs] Oh, that's lovely.

Oh, how nice.

Oh, I can't wait now.

I have got one more quite big piece of news for you.

-Bad?

-No, not bad.

-But it's a big piece of news.

-Yeah?

And that is that your mother is still alive.

[gasps] Really?

Ooh!

And I got told she died years ago.

Oh, my goodness!

Well, I've got a mum as well, that's... wow.

[sniffles] Oh, I can't wait now.

I'm so happy for you.

Yeah, I think I'll be an emotional wreck for the rest of the day.

It's so lovely.

The thing for Fiona I think is just pure relief, you know, relief that Maureen didn't reject her after she'd rejected her so many years ago, and also that feeling of not being alone anymore.

She has a sister.

[peaceful music playing] Today, after a lifetime of being kept apart by family secrets, the sisters will meet for the first time.

Nicky has come to take Maureen to where she'll finally meet Fiona.

-Hiya.

-Good morning.

Oh, you look lovely.

Thank you.

[Nicky] Right.

[sighs] [Davina] Nearly 30 years after they glimpsed one another at their grandmother's funeral, Maureen now has the chance to set the record straight and tell Fiona why their mother had to give her away.

Have you got anything you want to say to her?

Just tell her the truth.

Tell her how it was, you know.

She needs to know the truth.

[Nicky] For a family that was full of secrets... -Yeah.

-...the secrets are over.

About time.

Yeah, it is about time.

-Hello.

-Are you ready?

[Fiona] I certainly am.

Yeah.

[Davina] I've got this image of you when you were a child of just being so lonely.

[Fiona] I was, very lonely.

'Cause I had nobody, you know.

Nobody you could borrow make-up or play with.

And I do deeply, deeply regret not meeting her when, when my grandma asked us.

We were in the thirties.

We would have had at least 30 years together.

It's amazing, absolutely amazing.

I never, ever thought I'd see this day, never.

[Davina] The sisters want to meet here, at a country hotel close to where they both live.

-[Nicky] Are you all right?

-Yeah, yeah.

[Nicky] Yeah.

Right, it's gonna be in here.

[peaceful music playing] [Davina] How you feeling?

[Fiona] Fighting tears back at the moment.

Just want to see my sister and hug her and... just apologize.

I really feel I should apologize for not going to see her when I was younger.

[Davina] I'm going to, um, leave you here.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

And your sister's just in there.

Thank you.

Oh, goodness!

Hiya.

Hiya.

Oh!

Oh, gosh, I've waited so long for this.

-[Maureen] You're not the only one.

-[both laugh] Oh, flipping heck!

Oh, how nice.

Oh, I never thought I'd see this day.

-[Maureen] Neither did I.

-[Fiona] Oh, Maureen!

Oh, I was told so many lies about you.

I know.

You really was.

Anyway, let's take my coat off.

And like I say, I've got so many stories, so many questions to ask you because of all the lies I was told.

I do apologize, you know, for never, ever... -No, don't apologize.

-...wanting to meet you.

No, no, it was a lot of things have gone on over years.

Oh, I was, like I did say, "If Maureen doesn't wanna meet me, I can understand.

-I refused her years ago."

-Yeah, no, no, no.

I'm not like that.

"And if she doesn't wanna meet, that's fine."

-I understood that.

-I've always wanted to meet you.

-Have you really?

-Always.

I know.

[Fiona] All the gremlins have gone now, and I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulder, I honestly do, and I feel, um...

I feel like I could make her my best friend actually, as well as my sister.

Mum, she never wanted to give you away.

It was me grandma that made her.

Mum was told, "You come home with that baby, then you get kicked out."

-Really?

-Yeah.

And so... -she had no choice.

-Yeah.

And I have to tell you from me, she loves you.

I love her as well.

And I've thought about you both so often over these years.

And she said she's sorry.

[Fiona] She's nothing to be sorry for.

Nothing to be sorry for.

I'm just so pleased she's still alive.

Yeah.

So you can meet her.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Give her a chance to get used to it first.

Yeah.

[Fiona] Maureen said, "Mum loved you and I loved you."

And that touched me, that touched my heart, and I thought, somebody did care for me.

[indistinct chatter] [Maureen] Well, I'm just glad the truth's out, you know, and she's got the truth and, uh... and all them lies, she knows they're lies.

Oh, it's so nice to have a sister!

[Fiona] This is for real.

This is my sister.

And it's fantastic.

[Davina] Next time on "Long Lost Family"... a daughter's lifelong search for her elusive father.

[woman] And I would love to have a little more tangible evidence of his existence than the photograph that I've got.

And a young dad looking for his father who left him when he was just two years old.

To have a child and then all of a sudden you don't want that anymore leaves a big question mark in my mind.

[peaceful music playing]