[sentimental music playing] [Sue Stalley] I was told to pack my bags, leave the baby in the nursery, and just go.

[Liam Pitts] This was my mom's dream, to finally meet her siblings.

Every year, thousands of people come to us looking for missing family.

[Sharon Thomas] I have got a brother out there somewhere.

To find Christine would just mean everything.

[Nicky Campbell] Sometimes, it's to discover the truth about what really happened.

To find out that we were together... it breaks my heart.

[Davina McCall] So, imagine the moment... [phone ringing] -[Sharon] Hello?

-It's Davina.

m about ten minutes away.

Hello, Nicky.

[Davina] ...when the answers finally come.

Oh, my gosh!

[crying] She's always loved you and always will love you.

Wow!

Even got my eyes.

[Nicky] In this series, we discover extraordinary stories... [Paula Beer] I have felt an awful lot of guilt ever since I made the decision to do what I did.

...and find people that no one else could trace... [Liz Allward] They found my sister.

[Isabelle Allward] You're joking!

They're your cousins.

[laughs] [Davina] ...reuniting families who've spent a lifetime apart.

[uplifting music playing] [Ros] I want to shout to everybody, "I have met her!"

[music ends] Our first searcher was a young teenager when she had her.

And even though she was still at school, she was certain that she could look after him.

And now, more than 50 years later, she still feels the same way.

[Sue] He wasn't taken and then fostered straightaway.

I looked after him for that five weeks.

Oh, it was lovely.

You just got this little thing in your arms, and he needs you, and you need him, and he's yours.

No one can take that away from you.

He'll always be mine.

Anyone got a joke?

[Warren] How do you raise a baby elephant?

-With a crane.

-[Warren] With a forklift.

Oh, I was nearly there!

[laughs] [Davina] 70-year-old Sue Stalley lives in Bedford, around the corner from her grandchildren d her youngest daughter, Stephanie.

My family means everything to me, all of my family.

We do a lot of things together.

Yeah, I love it.

I'd be lost without them.

What was your first lesson?

[Warren] French.

Me and my brothers and sister, we didn't have a lot, but we had love.

Mom made sure of that.

And I think that matters.

That goes a long way.

[Davina] Sue was a young teenager when she met her first boyfriend in the mid-'60s.

Just an innocent sort of like friendship, girlfriend and boyfriend, as it was back in them days.

We used to go pictures or just hang around in his house, you know, just doing silly things, I suppose.

[Davina] Sue was still at school when she became pregnant.

[Sue] My boyfriend said, "Well, let's get married."

But his mom said, no, we're far too young.

So, it didn't happen.

My mom was mortified, to say the least.

I've brought shame on the family.

"Wear a big coat."

She bought me this massive, thick coat, and it was in the middle of summer, and I was walking around with this big coat on, and everyone kept saying, "Are you cold?"

And I used to go, "Yeah, I'm cold."

[laugh] You know, so nobody knew I was pregnant.

[Davina] As Sue was still a teenager, her mother decided what was going to happen.

I would go to a mother and baby home, and the baby would be adopted.

I did try.

I did say to her, "I don't want to get the baby adopted.

I want to keep him."

And they said, "No, you're too young."

And I was taken to Bedford Mother and Baby Home.

[Davina] The mother and baby home has since been demolished.

New flats have been built on the site.

What a change.

It's weird.

Very odd.

Brings back lots of memories.

[laughs] Yeah.

[Davina] In the last few weeks of her pregnancy, Sue made one final attempt to change her mother's mind.

[Sue] I just got up one day, and I thought, "I'm going home."

But when I got to the house, I knocked on the door, my mom answered, and she said, "What are you doing here?"

I says, "I've come home.

I'm keeping the baby."

She said, "No."

She turned me round.

She said, "Go back."

And sent me back.

I didn't even go in the house.

[Davina] In October 1968, Sue's son Richard was born.

Oh, he was lovely.

He was seven pounds, and he had dark hair.

His skin was like an olive-y sort of color, and he was beautiful.

[Davina] Sue cared for her baby son for five weeks before she was told that a foster family had been found for him.

So, I was told to pack my bags, leave the baby in the nursery, and just go.

So, I didn't get to say goodbye.

[melancholy music playing] I just cried all the way through it.

Wasn't what I wanted.

But then, what I wanted didn't come into it, I don't think.

Afterwards, I went home, I got myself a job, still was seeing my boyfriend, and then I found out I was pregnant again.

My mom hit the roof, and I thought, "I can't do this again."

I was very determined.

"I've got to put my foot down, and I've got to say what I think."

She wanted to get him adopted, but I said no.

I said, "And if you want him to get," you know, "if you keep saying that I've got to get him adopted, I'll move out, and I'll take him with me."

And with that, she said, "Well, let's come to an agreement."

[Davina] Sue's mom would look after the baby in the day whilst Sue was at work.

Later on, Sue had four more children, bringing them up mainly as a single parent.

But she's always regretted giving up her first-born son.

I managed when you lot were little.

So, yeah, I think I probably could have done it, looking back.

It would be amazing to find him, though, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

[Stephanie] Go on.

[Sue] You're right.

We'll find him.

Don't worry, Mom.

They're all here.

Come on.

When we took on Sue's case, our first step was to find the new adoptive name of the son she'd called Richard.

We discovered he was now called Steve Belgrove.

[typing] Our specialist researcher But couldn't locate him cold.

in this country.

But in the Netherlands, they tracked down a Steve Belgrove of the right age.

Steve's adoption happened a lifetime and hundreds of miles from here.

So, given all that distance, how will he react to the news that his birth mother has never forgotten him and hopes that, one day, they can actually meet?

-There you are.

Steve.

-Hi, nice to meet you.

You too.

Thanks for having me today.

So, how did you feel about your birth mother getting in touch?

I was quite shocked when I got the email.

It's good.

I always wanted to meet my mother.

-Did you?

-[Steve] Yeah.

I must have had a premonition or something, because I was talking to my kids about it a couple of weeks before I got the email.

No.

If she didn't look for me, I would look for her in the end.

-That's unbelievable.

-Yeah.

So, this really does mean a lot to you.

[Steve] Oh, yeah.

I always had a sort of deep in my heart.

I always had a feeling and a hope that... that she would come and look for me.

So, what was your adoption like?

Normal working-class family, pretty good upbringing, good schooling.

-Whereabouts?

-Melton Mowbray.

Pork pies and stuff.

Left school, joined the British Army, and I drive trucks and all that kind of stuff, and that's what I did, you know.

And I've got kids now.

I've got a boy and a girl.

-Grandkids?

-Three.

[Nicky laughs] Blimey.

-I don't look that old.

-[laughs] Well, they will be the first great-grandchildren for your birth mother.

I'm happy for her.

[both laugh] I'm happy she found me.

What did you know about her and about the circumstances of your adoption?

The one main thing, I knew she was young.

So, when she was pregnant, her mother was apoplectic.

It was decided almost immediately that the baby would be put up for adoption.

She wishes that she had been strong enough to keep you.

And she looks back now, and she has so many agonizing regrets about what she thinks was the wrong decision because she was young, and she was persuaded to do that.

Yeah, it couldn't have been easy.

I mean, we've got kids.

You know, you can't imagine giving them away and then forgetting about them-- you don't.

It's quite a heavy thing to go through life with, I should imagine.

[Nicky] Well, she's thought about you every single day.

[Steve] Yeah, sure... Sort of, uh... tugs on the heartstrings a bit, doesn't it?

Sue went on to have five more children, and many of those years were as a single parent.

She found that really tough.

I can identify with that.

My ex-wife, she got cancer.

And when my son was 12, she died.

So, I stopped working and brought my son up.

And my daughter I had from a different relationship, and she came to live with me as well at six years old.

So... I know what it's like bringing kids up on your own.

It's tough.

When we tell her that we found you, it'll change her life completely.

Probably change mine a bit as well.

[laughs] So, what else can I tell you?

Do we look alike?

I've got a photograph our birth mom.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

[chuckles] Yeah.

Yeah, it makes you think, doesn't it?

I just... I just feel like I know my mother or something.

It's weird.

[sentimental music playing] [Nicky] She wrote a letter.

[Steve] Thank you.

Whoa.

[laughs] "Dear Richard, I hope this letter finds you well.

I have wanted to reunite with you again for a long time, but I didn't want to upset your life.

I close my eyes, and I can see and feel you in my arms.

You will always be my son.

You were such a... beautiful baby, and I am one proud mom."

So, it's gonna happen?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

[laughs] Yeah, looking forward to it.

[general chatter] Our next searcher, Melanie, has a profound need to know more about her older sisters, because her own start in life was so precarious.

It's amazing to be here, where I was with my mother, Maria, and remembering the twins born a year before, sistthat I've lost.

Maybe they were in a place like this as well.

I want to know what happened.

Were they okay?

Are they okay?

[Davina] Melanie Mackney is 53 and lives in Hemel Hempstead.

As well as working for an airline, she upcycles furniture to sell in a local shop.

I do love restoring and repairing.

I think it might be to do with being adopted and me having a second chance.

So, if something's being chucked away, I'd like to save it and give it a new life.

[Davina] Melanie was always close with her adoptive family.

But after her adoptive mother died when she was 25 years old, she approached social services and accessed her adoption records.

"Melanie was born on 21st of October, 1970, at St.

Mary's Hospital, Paddington.

Melanie's mother, Maria Sumera, was then 36.

She was born in Yugoslavia and spoke a Serbo-Croat dialect."

[Davina] Melanie learned that Maria grew up on the tiny Croatian island of Krapanj... [explosions] ...which during World War II witnessed violence and brutality.

[ship horn blaring] After the war ended, many of the island's youth, including Maria, fled the new communist regime, traveling to Italy and then to Australia.

Maria later moved again.

[Melanie] "Maria had arrived in England in 1967, apparently on her own, and formed a relationship with an Irish man.

He and Maria had twin girls, Kathleen and Rosemary.

It seems the twins were then placed with foster parents and may have later been adopted."

She had the twins in October, 1969, and she had me in October, 1970.

"Melanie went to Kingsmoor House Mother and Baby Home.

Maria seemed proud of Melanie and talked and played with her.

But Maria became increasingly depressed, and Melanie moved to her adoptive home in November 1971.

Sadly, Maria's mental health deteriorated, and she was thought to be suffering from a form of schizophrenia."

It's quite obvious that she's struggling.

It put me off having children of my own, in a way.

I did want to have children, but I suppose I felt in me, "Will I be the kind of mother Maria was?"

I wonder if the twins, if they were the same.

I want to know what happened to them.

[Davina] Melanie Mackney is searching for her twin sisters, Kathleen and Rosemary, born just a year before her.

Last year, she uploaded her DNA to an online database in the hope of finding them.

But instead, she found two other siblings.

I got a match with what turned out to be my two sisters in Australia, Helen and Mitza.

[Davina] Maria had been married in Australia.

Before arriving in London, she left behind a husband and two little girls who never saw their mother again.

Unbelievable to be in contact.

They had some photos of Maria.

I'd never seen a photo of her.

She looks lovely.

Hi!

[Davina] Sister Mitza is based in Brisbane.

Can you see me?

Hello!

Oh!

So, I've just been looking at the photos of our mother.

That was the first time I had seen what she looked like.

I know.

It's incredible.

So, your father never talked about her.

She left, and that was it?

That was it.

When she passed away, my uncle said she had a pauper's funeral.

Oh, God.

There was no one there.

No one there and no one to pay for it.

No.

And just to know that she wasn't able to keep any of us.

I just think it's really tragic, and it's really sad.

And it just-- it says so much about her life and her.

I think the same.

I just feel just sadness for her life.

Yeah, it is.

And, you know, to think that she had twins.

I know.

I know, it does feel-- isn't it?

That really shocked me.

Yeah, let's hope that we find the twins.

I really, really hope that you find the girls.

So happy that you're looking for them as well.

[Davina] Melanie's birth mother was destitute when she died, aged only 43.

Melanie's returning to Kingsmoor House, where she spent the first four months of her life with her mother.

Maybe she stood at one of these windows holding me.

I think-- it feels nice to me.

It feels like a good place.

Makes me think more about finding out what happened to the twins a year before.

I wonder, have they had children?

I think it would bring a lot of peace and comfort to me to find out.

[Nicky] Melanie's adoption paperwork gave names and dates of births for the twins, and using that information, our specialist intermediaries were able to begin a search.

They located Rosie, who was delighted that Melanie wanted to trace her.

Although she wasn't ready to be filmed, she also had news about Kathleen.

Very sadly, she'd been killed in a road accident in 2021, aged just 52.

They also discovered that she had a son, Liam, Melanie's nephew.

Liam was delighted to hear about his Aunt Melanie.

He told us that his mother had been desperate to make contact with her other sisters, but she'd never been able to trace them.

I really appreciate Liam meeting me today.

Hopefully, he'll be able to tell me more about the twins and perhaps offer Melanie the connection she's always craved.

[door bell ringing] -Hey.

-Hi, Nicky.

-How are you doing?

-Great.

Come on in.

[Nicky] Thanks.

Thanks for having me.

Where do I start?

I'm so sorry that your mom, Kathleen, isn't here anymore.

And that was relatively recently.

Yeah, about two years ago, she passed away in an accident.

It was quite sudden, unexpected.

It was hard to take, but I'm happy that this has happened.

This was my mom's dream, to finally meet her siblings, her biological family, and myself, to meet my auntie and mom's lost sibling.

It'll be really, yeah, emotional and exciting.

So, how did the twins come to be adopted?

What was going on in their very early life?

I believe that they were... when they were born, or for the period after they were born, they may have been living on the streets in central London, sleeping in doorways and bottle-feeding, I believe, on the streets.

That must have been tough.

And that's when they had to go to hospital and had to be put into foster care.

And that's where my Nan came into the story.

-Adoptive Nan, yeah?

-Yeah, ended up being my mom and auntie's adoptive mom.

That is such amazing news.

They were kept together.

-Yeah.

-They were adopted together.

Really, yeah, important.

That's going to be just wonderful for Melanie.

Can I see some photographs of...?

Yeah, I'd love to show you, yeah.

[Nicky] Oh, thank you.

On the left's my mom, Kath, and on the right's Rosemary.

They look very different, don't they?

And here's another of my mom.

She's got lovely hair.

[Nicky] Yeah, she does.

So, whereabouts did you grow up?

I grew up in Royston.

I lived with my mom up to the age of seven.

She was a good mother.

She just, um... struggled with mental health issues, yeah.

But I stayed in contact with her while I've been in foster care from the age of seven.

So, you were fostered?

Foster parents or were you adopted?

-Foster parents.

-What was that like?

Tricky.

In the beginning of being separated from my mom, it was really hard.

All you want to do is live with your mom.

I could see it was hard for her to look after herself, let alone look after me as well.

But my foster parents have been amazing.

My mom knew that, that it would be best for me.

Did she remain close to her sister, Rosie?

Very close, yeah.

Calling every day.

My mom's passing has been quite difficult for Rosie.

So, I think the news of Melanie, I think, given her an extra boost.

That's really good to hear.

Melanie was lucky enough to have a really lovely adoption, but when she lost her adoptive mom, it set her mind on a course of finding out more about her origins, where she came from.

She found out that her mother was in what was Yugoslavia during the war, and after that went to Australia, but then flew over to the UK.

Right.

It'd be great to talk to Melanie and find out more about this.

I've got a photograph of Melanie.

Can I see it?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-[Nicky] Of course you can.

-Yeah.

Ah, I can see a bit of my mom and Rosie in here, yeah, for sure.

Oh, wow.

Melanie.

Melanie.

Oh, wow, so this is my auntie.

It's really exciting.

Yeah, I can definitely see some of my mom and Rosie in her, for sure.

She's definitely the sister.

Oh, it's a really nice photo.

It's really nice to see her.

That's cool.

That's really cool.

[Nicky] Your mom would be proud of you, wouldn't she?

Yeah.

I hope so, yeah.

Yeah, I'm glad I'm doing this.

And always thinking of her while I'm doing this, that it's really what she wanted, and... I want to do it myself, but I've got to do it for her too.

Yeah.

[birds chirping] [Davina] Sue Stalley is looking for the son her mother forced her to give up when she was a teenager.

Sue always regretted giving up her firstborn for adoption, but today, I'm hoping that she's going to be able to put aside those years of worry when I tell her that her son has been found... and he wants to meet.

Hey, Sue.

-Hello, Davina.

-Hi.

-Come on in.

-Thanks very much.

Thank you.

[Davina] Well, thanks so much for talking to me today.

I wanted to start off by asking if you've kind of thought about what it would do for you if he was found.

Like, what would it feel like?

Oh... If I can meet him and I can ask him, "Are you alright?

Have you had a good life?"

Is that what's important?

That's more important to me than anything.

Well, you're gonna find out.

-Am I?

-Yeah.

-You found him?

-Your son's been found.

-Does he want to see me?

-Yes.

Gosh.

I can't believe it.

Yes.

I'm gonna come and give you a hug.

-Thank you so much.

-You're welcome.

-I get my son back.

-Yes.

-After all this time.

-Yes, you do.

-Yes.

-I can't believe it.

-[Sue] Is he okay?

-He's okay.

Okay.

Has he had a good life?

After all this time.

Would you like to learn a bit about him?

Yes, I'd love to.

Okay, so his name was changed to Steven.

[Sue] Oh, Steven.

And he's known as Steve.

Oh, that's nice.

And he is now living in the Netherlands.

Oh, my goodness.

And he didn't want for anything when he was growing up.

He had a good life, generally.

When he was 17, he up and left and went into the army.

Oh, my God.

We're full of army.

We're full of forces.

Yeah.

You actually coming to find him has been a great joy for him.

Oh... Oh, that's great.

He's got two children.

[Sue] Oh, has he?

The oldest one, a boy, his mom died when the boy was 12.

Oh.

So he ended up leaving his job to look after his son, and then he took on his daughter as well, as a single parent.

Oh, wow.

And I've been a single parent most of my life.

Now, his daughter, Chelsea, has got a little girl... -Yeah.

-...who's two, called Noreen.

[Sue] Oh.

You're a great-- you're a great-grandma.

Oh.

[laughs] [Davina] You're too young to be great-grandma.

-[Sue] I know.

-Look at that.

[laughs] Oh, wow.

I think when you listen to his story, about what he's been through... Not much different to my own.

No.

And raising those kids is own.

-He's done well, hasn't he?

-He's done really well.

I have got a picture.

Oh!

This is Steve.

-Oh, my God.

-I think he looks so like you.

Oh, he's lovely, and he looks so kind.

Oh... bless him.

He's had such a life.

Bless his heart.

I can't wait to meet him.

I feel like I've got... My family is all complete.

Yet again.

So, you're going to meet on Thursday.

Oh!

[laughs] Oh, my God!

I'm going to give him a cuddle.

[laughs] Yeah.

I haven't done that for 50-odd years.

[Davina] Steve has returned to the UK to meet his birth mother, just outside Bedford, the town where he was born.

-Hello.

-[Steve] Well, hello.

I brought my daughter and my granddaughter, I brought with me.

I thought it would be nice for my birth mother, great-granddaughter and granddaughter, you know.

-How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

[Chelsea] Yeah?

[Steve] You're meeting your mother for the first time.

It's really important, because you do have a bit of an identity problem, you know?

It's a big chunk of your life that you've missed out on, really, and so, you want to know a bit what her life is like.

[Chelsea] Whee!

[Steve] Anybody would have a thousand questions to ask, you know.

Can't wait.

It'll be great.

[Noreen] Bye!

-[Steve] See you later.

-See you later.

-Say, "See you later."

-Noreen, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-[Steve] Bye-bye.

[Sue] I can't believe this day's arrived at all.

[laughs] It just seems really surreal.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time to meet him.

I think it's important that he knows I wanted him all these years.

I'd like to tell him that.

-Good luck.

-Taxi's here.

-How you feeling?

-Yeah, I'm alright.

I just think of him as my baby, my boy.

He's coming home.

I think the nerves are really kicking in now.

[laughs] Don't know what to expect.

[sentimental music playing] [Steve] Hello.

Good to meet you.

And you.

[laughs] Oh.

It's so long, first day.

Oh.

-Alright?

-Yeah.

-Taken a long while, yeah?

-Yeah.

55 years.

I haven't held you for 55 years.

Sad, Mom.

-Long time.

-Yeah.

I've always held a lot of guilt... giving you up.

I can understand that.

Because you were so young, I always knew it was-- it must have been difficult for you.

-Yeah.

-But we're here now.

We're here now.

We can make up for all the time we've lost.

-You look lovely.

-Yeah, thank you.

You too.

[both laugh] You've been in the army, then?

Yeah?

All of my family's been in the army.

Oh, it must have come from there, then.

-Must have got it from there.

-Yeah.

It's weird, isn't it, how you can be so far apart...?

And so close.

Be related, yet do the same things.

I've got you a little something.

Yeah?

Oh, St.

Christopher.

-Yeah.

-That's nice.

[Sue] Keep you safe on your journeys.

Yeah, thank you very much.

[chuckles] [Sue] Oh... I love you.

I knew that cuddle from when he was a baby.

I felt that immediate bond.

It was lovely.

It was heartfelt.

[Steve] Hey, meisje!

-[Sue] Hello.

-[Chelsea] Hello.

Oh, my God.

Hello.

How are you?

It's lovely to meet you.

Hello, darling.

-Hi.

-[Steve] How are you?

Fantastic.

We will all be a family now.

You alright?

Yeah?

[Steve] That's my mother, my birth mother.

It just feels natural.

You can feel there is still a bond there somewhere.

It made me feel like my mother loved me, I suppose.

To families!

-[all] Cheers.

-[Sue] To family.

[Sue] It just feels amazing that he's back.

55 years, and there's my son right in front of me.

I've longed for that.

My family is complete.

I've got all my children, and that's all I've ever wanted.

[Davina] Melanie Mackney wants to know what happened to her twin sisters, Kathleen and Rosemary.

She knows that their mother, Maria, whose tragic life took her from war-torn Yugoslavia to Australia and finally to London, died destitute, aged 43.

Sadly, we've discovered that one of Melanie's twin sisters, Kathleen, has also passed away.

It is so sad that Melanie's sister Kathleen died in 2021, but today brings good news.

Liam, Kathleen's son, wants to meet Melanie to fulfil his mom's dream of finding family.

Melanie has been informed of Kathleen's death, off-camera.

-Hi, Melanie.

-Hello, Davina.

Come in.

Thank you.

Thanks so much.

Thanks very much for seeing me today.

I'm so sorry about the news.

How have you been feeling?

I was really shocked.

I just somehow thought of them together, the twins, the two.

How long have you been looking?

I've always been looking, but I really didn't know how to do it.

I got my records, so, I got more of a picture about my mother.

How did that make you feel about her?

It just looked like a really, really hard life.

And I just felt desperately sad for her.

I've always wondered about the twins, because I didn't... I didn't know if they had been with her, been in that kind of life, what happened.

-Have you worried about that?

-Yea Well, in the process of finding out that Kathleen had died, we got in touch with her son.

Oh, wow!

Oh, my God!

Liam is Kathleen's son.

Oh, wow.

Wow.

Oh.

It's good.

Does Rosemary have children?

-She doesn't.

-No?

Oh, like me?

I'll tell you a bit about Liam in a minute, but it has meant that we've been able to piece together their early life.

So, your mom and dad were homeless and, in fact, Kathleen and Rosemary were also on the street, and they were a few months old, and they got found and taken to hospital and then got fostered by their future adoptive mother, and so, they stayed together.

Did they?

Oh, brilliant.

Brilliant.

And they had a nice family?

Oh, wow.

Oh!

-They were like that.

-Oh!

-[Davina] So close.

-Oh!

And always looking out for each other and always had each other's backs.

Kathleen did go on to have some mental health issues.

She struggled with that, and it meant that, at seven years old, Liam got fostered.

He had a foster family, and they absolutely included Kathleen in his life.

-Oh, wow.

-And he was loved all around.

He's done really well for himself.

-He's 24.

-Twenty-four!

Oh!

-He'd love to meet you.

-Would he?

Would he?

Oh.

I would like to meet him.

And Rosemary knows about you.

She's a bit shy about the cameras.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

-But she would love to meet you.

Really?

Oh!

[sobbing] Oh.

How is she?

-She's great.

-Is she okay?

Yeah.

Does she miss her sister?

Yeah.

It must be devastating.

And, in fact, Liam said that it was Kathleen's dream, and you reaching out and being... and finding him has... has done something for him, because they've always talked about trying to find you but not knowing where to start.

Oh, wow.

You don't know what they look like, do you?

-I do.

-[cries] -Does that mean a lot, to see... -Yeah.

So... this is Kathleen.

Oh, my God.

[clears throat] Wow.

Oh.

Wow.

The difference, really, of Maria and Kathleen is that Kathleen did get lots of support.

-Really?

-Yeah.

You know, she worked, she was happy.

She wanted to have Liam live with her but knew that he was in the best place for him.

So, there was no anger or anything.

It was a very good, healthy set-up.

Yeah, she just needed help, like Maria did.

But she got the support, and Maria didn't.

Yeah, a little different.

Mm.

So, I've got a picture here of Liam with Rosemary.

Oh, wow.

Oh, my God.

Oh.

Oh, he's lovely.

-Gosh.

-[Davina] He's so handsome.

[Melanie] Yeah, he is.

He is.

Oh, he's lovely.

She's lovely.

What do you want to say to Liam?

I just want to meet him, give him a hug.

I think... Yeah, just be there.

Just, yeah.

-Be there for him.

-Just be there for him, yeah.

Mm.

[Davina] Melanie will meet Liam in a hotel close to her home.

It'll be the first time she's ever met a blood relative.

[Liam] So, I'm very excited.

I couldn't sleep very well... wondering how Mel would be, what she would be like.

[Davina] Liam's girlfriend, Stephanie, and his foster dad, Richard, have come along to support him.

-Similar eyes to your mom.

-[Liam] Yeah, yeah.

I can see my mom's eyes in there, yeah.

So, how are you feeling about today, then, Liam?

-I'm feeling nervous.

-Yeah?

And excited.

I can't really keep a straight face, because I'm just smiling.

[Richard] It's alright, yeah.

[Melanie] I want to hug him.

I want to talk to him.

I want to hear him.

Just to see his face.

Does that look like me?

Yeah.

[Melanie] I'll see you later.

Bye-bye.

[Steph] Good luck.

[Liam] Yeah.

[laughs] [Melanie] There's so much contained in this.

There's so many emotions, feelings, dreams.

Butterflies now.

[sentimental music playing] I'm just ready to do it.

You know?

Hi, Mel.

[Melanie laughs] [Liam] You found us.

[Melanie] Oh, how are you?

-I'm good.

-You okay?

You remind me so much of my mom.

-Really?

-Yeah, a lot.

Your eyes, yeah.

-Aw!

-A lot, yeah.

It's okay.

[laughs] Oh!

Oh, my God.

You look lovely.

You do, too.

Yeah.

Do you live in Highgate?

In North London.

I do now, yeah.

-I grew up in North London.

-Did you?

-And so did Mom and Rosie.

-Yes!

So, you know I'm fostered as well.

So, I lived with Mom up until about seven.

But I always stayed in contact with her, even until... -Yeah.

-Yeah.

...what happened, yeah.

It must have been such a shock.

It was really unexpected, and, yeah, sad.

Um... Sorry.

Are you alright?

Yeah.

It's been okay, 'cause I've got good foster parents, and, like, they're very supportive of me.

I've got Rosie as well, so, it's all good.

-It's a good thing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

I'm so sorry that, you know, we didn't get this before.

-I'm sorry the timing-- -[Melanie] I know.

I would have loved for you to have met her.

She really, really would have wanted to meet you as well.

-You think?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Yeah?

-Definitely.

He said, "I hope that I'm enough, that you met me instead of my mom."

And I said, "You're more than enough."

Do you think you look Yugoslavian?

-Do you think there's...?

-I don't know.

I don't know.

But I think we've definitely got similar facial features, haven't we?

Have you ever been?

-I've been to Croatia, yeah.

-Me too.

-And I really liked it.

-Me too, yeah.

[Liam] It felt so natural.

I see so much of my mom in her-- mannerisms, how she reacts to good news.

Here's Richard, my dad, and Steph, my girlfriend.

-Hi.

-[Liam] This is Mel.

[Richard] Lovely.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Hello.

[Liam] Lovely to meet you, Val.

[Melanie] It does feel like belonging somewhere.

I've always wanted to belong.

And, you know, he's really my-- mine.

[end music playing]