- 6/19/2025
#CinemaJourney
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00:00I don't know where I was born, but I was found in a car park, literally fresh out of the womb.
00:09Why was I left in another child's pram? Who left me?
00:14This place was the start of my love.
00:18Foundlings. People left as babies.
00:21In the most extraordinary places.
00:26Often in the first hours or days of life.
00:30Born without trace, the most fundamental aspects of their identities are missing.
00:37I don't know the date I was born, where I was born, who me parents were.
00:43Leaving lives overshadowed by questions.
00:47Do you think that I was actually born in them toilets?
00:49Yeah.
00:50Yes.
00:53For over six years, we've been investigating these astonishing cases.
00:58Using DNA mapping and painstaking detective work, we unlock the past.
01:05That was the first time I ever seen my child as a baby.
01:08And bring the most important news.
01:12It's your first ever blood relative, right?
01:14Yeah, it does it.
01:15You feel so familiar.
01:18That changes lives forever.
01:20Simon Prothero was discovered in the late summer of 1966.
01:41Until we took on his case, he'd never been back to the children's home where he'd been left.
01:46I believe I was only a few hours old when I was found.
02:02Nobody's ever come forward.
02:03Simon wasn't handed into the children's home.
02:23He was left in an outside toilet block.
02:25As far as I know, there was nothing left with me, no, no, nothing, just as it was.
02:42I think this might be the place because looking at the tiles on the wall, that's how toilets used to be.
02:51Well, I do honestly think that I have found it now.
02:59Yeah.
03:02It's a very quiet place.
03:05So far from the house, you probably would have heard a baby crying.
03:12Somebody must have seen somebody walking around there.
03:14I think my mother, she lived local.
03:29I don't think a stranger would have found this place.
03:34Yeah, it's just so much to take in.
03:36I want to know why she felt that she had to give me up then.
03:47Yeah.
03:48That's what I'd like to know.
03:55I don't know where I was born, when I was born, what the circumstances were.
04:02I don't know who my mother is.
04:17Simon was adopted and grew up in a village just ten miles away from the children's home.
04:23He was told the details of how he was left when he was nine.
04:26His good friend, Mark, was born within days of Simon being found.
04:33Mark is one of the few people who knows Simon's story.
04:37Do you remember one morning I came in and you told me that what happened?
04:42He got found as a baby.
04:44I went home and told my mother, like, she was amazed.
04:47Mark's own mother clearly remembered Simon being found and the police search that followed.
04:52Because my mother just had me and the police come in and knocked on the door and asked her to see me.
04:58The police obviously checked the records and whoever was born on that date or close in that area,
05:03they went round the houses then and checking on the mothers who had had babies.
05:09She was quite emotional, my mother was like, because it's like a bit surreal, isn't it?
05:13It's right to know, really, that obviously the police did take it serious and they were looking into it.
05:20Yeah.
05:20I'm glad I told him, to be honest, because I would never have known that the police were involved.
05:36Simon's adoptive parents have both now died, but he still lives in the same village where he grew up.
05:41Dad, my parents were very loving, fair play.
05:46Come on then.
05:47Oh, good boy.
05:48They were really good parents.
05:50I had a very good upbringing.
05:53I don't actually have any photographs of myself growing up as a baby through my childhood.
05:59I haven't got anything.
06:02But I have loads of lovely memories.
06:05In 1997, Simon married Helen, and they raised three children between them.
06:18We used to watch Long Lost Family all the time.
06:21I told Helen I was adopted, but then, as the years were going on, she knew by me that there was something that I was wanting to know a bit more.
06:33But it wasn't until Born Without Trace started taking on foundling cases that they realised, even without a paper trail, DNA tracing meant there was a chance to find birth family.
06:45I'm really happy.
06:46We'd watched the programme, and on the following day, I said to Helen, I'm going to try now and see if I can do some DNA testing.
06:54And that was the way forward.
06:56Helen encouraged Simon to apply.
07:00Five days before Christmas, December 23, Helen was diagnosed with cancer.
07:05And that was quite, quite hard as a family for us.
07:15Yeah, and in September then, she passed away, huh?
07:27It is hard, to be honest with you.
07:30But, um, she'd want me to carry it out.
07:34She won't.
07:41While our search team were looking for DNA connections, we knew that Simon had no childhood photos of himself.
07:50So we scoured newspaper and television archives.
07:54After a lot of dead ends, we'd found what we were looking for.
08:04This is the original newsreel from 1966.
08:11That was the first time I've ever seen my child as a baby.
08:36To me, it looked as if I was cared for.
08:47It's just so much to take in.
09:02Seeing me as a baby for the first time in 58 years.
09:07It's, it's, it's, it's, yeah, it's, mind-blowing, to be honest with you.
09:15I hope that by doing this now that I do get my answers, because that's what I need now.
09:31Whoever left Simon outside that children's home clearly meant him to be found by people who could take care of him.
09:44We've also taken on the case of another foundling, left to be found by someone who knew exactly how to care for a baby.
09:51In May 1969, Lisa Dyke was discovered as a newborn outside a health clinic.
10:00She'd been put into another baby's pram.
10:10My story started the day I was found.
10:15What I need to know now is what happened before.
10:18Why was I left in another child's pram?
10:23Who left me?
10:26I assume it was my birth mother.
10:29I just want to know the truth.
10:34These houses stand on the site of the health clinic where Lisa was left.
10:42I feel that she must have been local to have known about the clinic.
10:48I'm trying to think how she might have been feeling.
10:53Waiting to see somebody leave their pram outside and take that opportunity to put me in there.
11:02Just waiting for that perfect moment so that I would be found quickly.
11:07I can only assume that my birth mother was young, maybe frightened.
11:19I was only hours old.
11:21She must have known what she was going to do.
11:25When Lisa accessed her adoption file in 2005,
11:28she discovered not only where she'd been found, but what she'd been left with.
11:33I had a note pin to me saying,
11:39please take care of her.
11:41I cannot and never will be able to give her a good home where she will be happy.
11:48She is just born and needs a doctor.
11:51Reading it here,
11:53seeing where I was,
11:55I was left,
11:57it's,
11:58it's quite,
12:00it's quite emotional, actually.
12:03I feel quite close to her
12:05and the emotions she may have been feeling at the time.
12:18To actually have the original notes
12:20means so much to me
12:21because it's the one thing I got that connects me to her.
12:24It's so precious.
12:28It just reminds me
12:29how much she wanted me to be happy.
12:34It takes the negativity of abandonment away
12:37because I know she cared.
12:46Lisa now lives in France with partner Duncan,
12:49but she grew up in Hampshire
12:50where her son Ryan still lives.
12:53And you, well,
12:53I've seen you in ages.
12:54I know, I know.
12:56Here you go.
12:57Happy Mother's Day.
12:58Oh, thank you.
12:59You remembered.
13:01She had Ryan at 19
13:02and brought him up as a single parent
13:04with the help of her adoptive parents,
13:06Sylvia and Ryan.
13:10Nan and grandad.
13:11They're very happy, don't they?
13:12Yeah, they do.
13:13I could not have wanted better parents.
13:16My mum was just everything.
13:17Lisa always knew she was adopted.
13:21I'm not quite sure what I'm doing in that one.
13:23I'm obviously up to no good, I think,
13:24because I'm hiding behind the curtain.
13:26Do you remember this?
13:28Tenerife?
13:29It looks warm.
13:30Having Ryan at a young age
13:31made me reflect on my circumstances.
13:35I've thought about
13:36who my birth mother was over the years,
13:39but because I had such a wonderful mum,
13:41I would just put it to one side.
13:44Unfortunately, we lost her two years ago.
13:54Now, Lisa's decided to see if DNA
13:57can help her find answers
13:58and potentially her birth family.
14:02I don't want to force myself
14:04into anybody else's lives.
14:06I just need to know what happened.
14:10I need to know who I am.
14:14Simon Frothero was left as a baby
14:28in the grounds of a children's home
14:30in South Wales,
14:31and our team has been working on his DNA.
14:33Hi there, Ariel.
14:34Nicky.
14:35What's the latest in Simon's case?
14:37We did Simon's DNA.
14:39We found a really enormous family group
14:42from North Wales,
14:43many, many children,
14:45and those children
14:47have all then gone on
14:49to have many, many children,
14:51and one of them in particular
14:53had already taken a test,
14:56a gentleman called Noel.
14:57He was, you know,
14:59DNA-wise and connected to Simon.
15:02That helped us enormously.
15:04It was a proper lead, then.
15:05It was a great lead,
15:06and through that we were able
15:08to identify Simon's birth mother.
15:11We know who she is.
15:13That's brilliant.
15:14And she's alive?
15:15She is.
15:16How is she?
15:17When we first contacted her,
15:19her initial reaction was to ask,
15:21am I going to be in trouble for this?
15:24And I, of course, reassured her
15:25that that was not the case.
15:27She's carried fear for so long.
15:29She has.
15:30She finds it difficult
15:31to remember details,
15:33and I think it's really stressful
15:35to be asked lots of questions.
15:38How old is she?
15:40She's in her early 80s.
15:41So do you have any understanding
15:44of the circumstances
15:45that she was in when Simon was born?
15:48She was young,
15:49and she was not married.
15:50I don't think she had family support,
15:52and she has said
15:56that she could no longer live at home
16:01because she was pregnant
16:02and that there was a failed relationship,
16:06which meant that she was on her own
16:09trying to make very difficult decisions
16:11about Simon.
16:13Does she have supportive family now?
16:16She does.
16:17They are aware of the situation.
16:19She's not ready for contact
16:21at this stage.
16:22It's very early days.
16:24I hope that in time
16:26that may come,
16:27but it isn't yet.
16:29So, as ever,
16:30a hugely sensitive situation.
16:33Yes.
16:35The extraordinary thing is
16:36Simon's birth mother
16:37doesn't live in Neath.
16:39She can't quite remember
16:40why she was in that area,
16:43but Noel does live in Neath,
16:45and he and the rest of his family
16:47would really like to meet Simon.
16:49It's such a difficult piece of news
16:58to give a foundling.
17:00We've found their birth mother,
17:01but she's not ready for contact.
17:05And I imagine that's going to be hard
17:07for Simon to hear.
17:09But there is basic information
17:11that we all have a right to,
17:14who our birth family is
17:15and where we come from.
17:18And I can tell him that.
17:37Hi, Davina.
17:38Hi, Simon.
17:39Come in.
17:45Thanks so much for seeing me today.
17:50Oh, is that Helen?
17:52Yeah, that's Helen.
17:53Oh.
17:54Well, I know you've had
17:56a particularly tough time
17:57at the end of last year.
17:58Did she encourage you to search?
18:00Was she behind?
18:00Yeah, she was behind me.
18:02Yeah, 100%.
18:03Yeah.
18:03I knew I had to carry on.
18:07I couldn't just leave it where it was then.
18:09Mm.
18:10I've come because I've got some news.
18:13Okay.
18:14Your birth mother has been found.
18:21She's alive.
18:22How old is she?
18:32She's in her early 80s.
18:36Is she okay?
18:38She has a couple of health issues.
18:42Was she local?
18:44No, she wasn't local.
18:45She wasn't from Neath.
18:47Where was she from?
18:48She was from a very large family
18:51in North Wales.
18:53Oh, all right.
18:55Your birth mother was
18:57in a brief relationship
18:59with your birth father.
19:02Okay.
19:02But they had split up
19:05by the time you were born.
19:08Right.
19:08They weren't married.
19:10Right, okay.
19:12I know nothing with my birth father.
19:14I know nothing.
19:15We don't have any news
19:17about your birth father
19:18as of yet.
19:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:22Ariel is navigating
19:24the situation
19:25with your birth mother,
19:28but at the moment
19:28she's not ready
19:29for contact.
19:32Okay.
19:34The only bits of things
19:35that I'm trying to think
19:36was, like,
19:37if I was from, like,
19:38North Wales,
19:39it's a long way to come
19:40from North Wales to Neath
19:41just to leave a baby, you know?
19:43Can't quite get my head
19:44around that one.
19:45I can understand
19:47why it was there
19:48because it was
19:49a children's home.
19:50As a safe place
19:51to leave you.
19:51I think so.
19:52Yeah.
19:53And it must be frustrating
19:54I can't give you more.
19:55I do understand.
19:57I was hoping
19:57for some sort of answers
19:59and a little bit
20:02more on
20:03my background
20:05and things.
20:06Don't judge anybody,
20:08nobody on it,
20:09you know?
20:09But I would like to know.
20:11I think,
20:11I think I deserve to know.
20:13You do.
20:15How are you feeling now?
20:17Um,
20:18I would like to meet her.
20:19But, I mean,
20:21obviously,
20:22without a moment,
20:23it's not to be,
20:24so it's not to be.
20:24But, um,
20:26well, I just
20:27can't take it all in,
20:29to be honest.
20:30No.
20:31I have got something else
20:33to tell you as well.
20:34We've found another branch
20:36of your family.
20:37All right.
20:38And they are in Neath.
20:40In Neath?
20:41Yes.
20:42Oh.
20:44Theirs was the DNA match
20:46that set us off
20:47on the right path.
20:49And the member
20:50of that family
20:50that we're talking to
20:52is a man called Noel.
20:54He'd be able to tell you
20:55a bit more
20:55about your extended family.
20:56I would like to meet him
20:58and maybe
20:58see what he does now
21:01and things.
21:03From having a thing
21:04to find out
21:06the mother's still alive
21:07when family is close by.
21:11Quite a bit, really.
21:14But, uh, yeah.
21:17Everything's about this, isn't it?
21:19I think you've got to look at it now.
21:23By the way,
21:23so...
21:24Good, sir.
21:26Before Simon meets
21:34his newfound relatives,
21:36for our other searcher, Lisa,
21:38there's been a huge breakthrough.
21:41So, Ariel,
21:41what can you tell me?
21:43Well, we've made loads of progress
21:45and we got to a family
21:47that we believed Lisa
21:48to be connected to.
21:50We asked a family member,
21:52Lynn,
21:53to undertake a DNA test.
21:55We believed that it was likely
21:58that she was going to
22:00actually be, um,
22:03Lisa's
22:03half-sibling.
22:05And look at that.
22:08Shared DNA,
22:1045 to 52%.
22:12So,
22:13same parents.
22:16Yes.
22:16Full sister.
22:17A full sister.
22:18Yeah.
22:19We can tell Lisa
22:20who her birth mother
22:21and birth father were.
22:24Sadly,
22:24they have both died.
22:25Oh.
22:26But,
22:27um,
22:28Lynn
22:29has, uh,
22:32siblings
22:32and therefore
22:33so does Lisa.
22:35So,
22:36and here we are.
22:37All four siblings?
22:38Yeah.
22:38Look.
22:38So we've got Lynn
22:40and Jen
22:40and Tim,
22:41two sisters
22:42and a brother.
22:43So from her life
22:44being a void
22:44and knowing nothing
22:45about her past,
22:46all of a sudden,
22:47three,
22:48four siblings.
22:50Just extraordinary.
22:51Tim and Jen
22:52were born before Lisa,
22:54one and two years before.
22:56And Lynn was born
22:57three years later.
22:59And we think
23:00what happened was
23:02that they had parted
23:04at the time
23:05that, uh,
23:06Lisa was,
23:07was born.
23:08And they were reconciled.
23:10And then they were reconciled
23:11and had Lynn
23:12and then parted again
23:14for good.
23:15So Tim and Jen
23:16and Lynn,
23:17were they brought up together?
23:19They were brought up together.
23:20Well, for Lisa
23:21it's going to be
23:22tough to take her on board
23:23and to hear it.
23:24I suppose
23:25a very natural question
23:27would be
23:27why me
23:29out of the,
23:30the four
23:31and yet
23:32on the other hand
23:34there is
23:35the potential
23:36joy
23:37of finding
23:38that you're
23:38one of four
23:39full siblings.
23:41But also
23:42hearing about Lisa
23:44is tough for Lynn
23:45and Jen
23:46and Tim
23:46as well,
23:47isn't it?
23:48Yes,
23:49their parents
23:49having another child
23:50that they didn't
23:51know about.
23:53Everything they thought
23:54is now seen
23:55in a different light,
23:56isn't it?
23:57Yes.
23:58There's been
23:58this, um,
24:00secret
24:00within the family
24:02that makes them
24:03have to revise
24:05their perception
24:07of what their family was.
24:09For more than 50 years,
24:26the only thing
24:27Lisa Dyke
24:28has known
24:28about her birth mother
24:29is that she left her
24:31to be found
24:32in another baby's pram.
24:34Police are still
24:35searching for the mother
24:36of the baby girl
24:37abandoned in a pram
24:38outside the health clinic
24:39in Milham Street,
24:40Christchurch,
24:41last week.
24:43She was never traced,
24:44never came forward.
24:46Effectively,
24:47I'm still unclaimed,
24:4855 years later.
24:49But now we've identified
24:57Lisa's birth family,
24:58her mother
24:59and her father,
25:01and three full siblings
25:02who grew up
25:04in the Christchurch area
25:05where Lisa was left.
25:08This is not the first time
25:10that we've discovered
25:11foundlings
25:11whose parents were a couple
25:13and had other children
25:14together.
25:16It's always been
25:17a really big shock
25:18for the children
25:19when they find out.
25:20I wonder how Lisa's
25:22siblings are dealing
25:23with this news.
25:25I'm meeting
25:26all three of them.
25:30Hello, Nicky.
25:31Come on in.
25:31Hi, Tim.
25:32How are you?
25:33I'm fine, thank you.
25:34Yourself?
25:34Thanks very much
25:35for having me.
25:38Great to meet you.
25:39Hi, Lynn.
25:40Hi, Nicky.
25:40Hi, Jen.
25:41Hi, Nicky.
25:42Hi.
25:43Hi, Tim.
25:43Hi.
25:43So what did you think
25:46when Ariel got in touch?
25:48Shock.
25:50Disbelief.
25:51Can't explain it.
25:52It's very, very surreal.
25:54Yeah, when they told us,
25:55I thought, gosh.
25:56I couldn't speak.
25:57I was just so shocked.
25:59So if Lisa says,
26:00why do you think
26:00this happened to me?
26:02We would definitely say
26:03100% that there must be.
26:05There must be no reason.
26:06But what that reason is,
26:07we don't know.
26:08What was your mum and dad's
26:10relationship like?
26:11Towards the end,
26:11it was fractious.
26:14But my mum loved our dad.
26:16Oh, he adored him.
26:18What was your home life like?
26:19Was he around?
26:20For me and Jen,
26:21it definitely was around.
26:23Yeah, not so much for me.
26:24He left when I was seven.
26:26He was a merchant seaman.
26:29Drove lorries.
26:30When he left,
26:31my mum,
26:32she was just really upset.
26:33I think her love for him
26:35was so strong.
26:35When our dad left us,
26:37she had to work a lot,
26:38so we were latchkey kids.
26:40So there was always
26:41some sort of worry,
26:42wasn't there,
26:43that social service
26:44might get involved
26:45and be taken into care
26:46at any time.
26:47So you might have been
26:48terrified she would
26:48lose all of you.
26:50Yeah, I can see that
26:51actually, definitely.
26:54I remember once
26:55finding her on the kitchen
26:56floor, just crying,
26:58and it was just like
26:59life got on top of her
27:00too much.
27:01So your mum left Lisa
27:03in a pram
27:04and there was a note there
27:06for another mother to find.
27:08And Lisa, of course,
27:10when she reads that note,
27:12knows that she was
27:13left with great care.
27:15I have a copy of it.
27:16Have you?
27:17Yeah.
27:17Can we see it?
27:20Yeah.
27:22I think it is hers.
27:23I really don't want to
27:37believe it.
27:38It's really difficult.
27:39I really don't want
27:40to believe it.
27:42Sorry.
27:43No, don't worry.
27:44It's so hard.
27:46It's so tough.
27:48She was a good mum.
27:49Please take care of her.
28:06I cannot and never
28:07will be able to
28:08give her a good home
28:10where she will be happy.
28:16She's just born
28:18and needs a doctor.
28:21I don't know
28:21if I'm struggling
28:22the most just because
28:23I'm the youngest
28:23and I would have
28:24been born after.
28:26I just don't want
28:28anybody to think
28:29that she's left one
28:31but then had another one
28:33and I'm that child.
28:35I think it's got a lot
28:36to do with mum and dad
28:37and their relationship.
28:41Do you have any photos
28:42of your parents?
28:43Yes.
28:44That's my mum.
28:46Because she looks like you.
28:48Yeah.
28:49She loved the beach.
28:50She loved the sun.
28:51Did she?
28:52Yeah.
28:58And that's your dad?
28:59Yeah.
29:00Who looks like you?
29:01Yeah.
29:02He's a good looking man.
29:04Yes.
29:05That would impart
29:06the problem.
29:06You like to have fun.
29:07Yeah.
29:08Let's put it that way.
29:08Presumably he knew
29:09about this?
29:11He must have.
29:12Mum couldn't hide
29:13the pregnancy
29:13for nine months
29:14from my dad.
29:15He must have been
29:16there to help.
29:16that I was born
29:18at home
29:18with my dad.
29:19Dad delivered.
29:21Delivered.
29:21Dad, okay.
29:23Yeah.
29:24Maybe my dad
29:25delivered Lisa
29:26as well.
29:27Who knows?
29:28Who knows?
29:29You've seen
29:30what she looks like.
29:30That's what I'm looking at.
29:31Yes.
29:32She's one of you.
29:33Oh my.
29:34Oh goodness.
29:35Oh.
29:36Oh.
29:41She looks like you,
29:42Jed.
29:42Yeah.
29:43You could be a twin.
29:47Wow.
29:50Definitely our sister.
29:53Lisa had a great adoption.
29:54Holds no animosity
29:55towards her mother.
29:56But looking now,
29:57thinking about it,
29:58I wish mum could be alive.
30:00Make her,
30:01I think it'd make her
30:01really happy.
30:04I'm excited.
30:06Really excited.
30:07I'm excited.
30:14Simon Prothero,
30:16found as a newborn baby
30:17in the grounds
30:18of a South Wales
30:18children's home,
30:20now knows
30:21who his birth family is.
30:22After 58 years,
30:25there's still a lot
30:26to take in.
30:28My birth mother
30:29is still alive.
30:33Hopefully we do
30:34get to meet.
30:37It would mean a lot.
30:38today he's going to
30:56meet some of his
30:56birth family
30:57who still live nearby.
30:59Me and Ellen
31:00used to watch
31:01along with our family
31:01for years and years.
31:04It's just a shame,
31:05really,
31:05that she's not here
31:06to be with me.
31:07but I know
31:09she still is.
31:11Saying,
31:11come on,
31:11you've got to do this,
31:12you know,
31:13carry on.
31:24To protect
31:25Simon's birth mother,
31:26we're not identifying
31:27exactly how
31:28Simon and Noel
31:29are related.
31:36Simon.
31:36All right.
31:38Yes.
31:39Yeah.
31:40Yeah.
31:41Shock for you,
31:41isn't it?
31:42Yeah,
31:42it's a bit of a shock,
31:43yeah.
31:43A bit of a shock,
31:44yeah.
31:45Yeah,
31:45a bit.
31:46This gentleman,
31:47here's my brother.
31:48John.
31:49Yeah,
31:49and that's my sister,
31:51Wendy.
31:51I'm Wendy.
31:52Hello.
31:52Hello.
31:53This was me as a baby.
31:57Same hair.
31:58Oh,
31:59that's nice,
32:00isn't it?
32:00Nice dog hat,
32:01isn't it?
32:03And some bug,
32:04you're a lovely little baby.
32:06What happened?
32:08I don't know what happened.
32:11Oh,
32:12you upset the baby,
32:13you know.
32:13Ah.
32:15Well,
32:16you was who born,
32:17you know?
32:17Ah,
32:1766.
32:18Because if only things you're remembering,
32:19you're going to work out for that.
32:20You're going to remember it,
32:22don't you?
32:22Yeah.
32:22They would have been 14 then,
32:25isn't it?
32:26Yeah.
32:26And the mother and father never mentioned anything,
32:28did they?
32:29We used to have people coming down to stay,
32:31occasionally and that,
32:33you know.
32:33There we are.
32:33Different cousins and that.
32:36I feel a little upset.
32:39We can't help him on the why.
32:41He knows the where.
32:43Now knows the who.
32:44But we don't know the why.
32:46We think that's your mother,
32:48when she was a child.
32:49Oh,
32:49right,
32:49thank you.
32:50He's got a young girl,
32:56eh?
32:57Fabulous red hair.
32:59Oh,
32:59he was so ginger,
33:00eh,
33:00as a kid.
33:01Oh,
33:01I love him.
33:03I can see how he's having that.
33:05It must be in the genes,
33:07with both red heads.
33:08It's a wonderful thing.
33:13We've already exchanged the dresses,
33:16and I'd love to meet this family,
33:18and get together.
33:20And I hope he's happy with us as a family.
33:25There are three generations here today to welcome Simon into the clan.
33:29You recognise this woman, don't you?
33:31Yeah.
33:32I said, Mark.
33:33Hey, come on.
33:34Good to be here.
33:36By the time we had him all up,
33:37the children and grandchildren,
33:39there's about 30 of us.
33:40Tilly,
33:41his daughter.
33:41Hi,
33:41what?
33:42Are you okay?
33:43Amelia,
33:44his daughter.
33:45What?
33:45Two rugby teams.
33:47Two rugby teams.
33:49My daughter,
33:49Debra.
33:50Hiya.
33:50And you?
33:52Samantha.
33:52I'll probably take a day to go round them all.
33:55And Alex.
33:57Yeah.
33:58I've had a few answers.
34:01I'd like to have a few more,
34:03but it's been good.
34:05It has been a good day.
34:07When Lisa Dyke came to us,
34:21she only knew that she'd been found as a newborn baby,
34:24with a handwritten note that appeared to be from her mother.
34:31We've now found her birth family.
34:37I'm going to be delivering enormous news to Lisa today.
34:44As well as telling her about both her birth parents,
34:48she'll also find out that she has three full siblings,
34:52a brother and two sisters.
34:58Sadly,
34:59her birth mother and father have died.
35:02We've told Lisa away from the cameras.
35:07Hi, Lisa.
35:09Hi, Davina.
35:10Lovely to meet you.
35:11And you.
35:12Come on in.
35:19I am so sorry for the news we had to bring you.
35:22How have you been?
35:25It was sad.
35:27It was sad to hear that they both passed away.
35:30I half expected that kind of news,
35:34but hearing it,
35:35it still shakes you a little.
35:39Your birth mother's name was Christine,
35:43and she was 25 when you were born.
35:46Oh, OK.
35:47Older than I thought she would be.
35:48I thought she'd be younger.
35:51Did she live in Christchurch?
35:53Yeah.
35:53She lived really close to where you were left.
35:55OK.
35:56Your birth father's name was Brian.
36:01OK.
36:01They were in a relationship when you were born.
36:06That's shock.
36:07That's definitely different from what I'd expected.
36:10I expected her to be young
36:12and potentially not able to keep me,
36:16because maybe concealed my birth.
36:17So it's completely different.
36:19Do you know why she felt that she needed to give me up?
36:25That's a story.
36:27OK.
36:27You have siblings.
36:29Oh, gosh.
36:32Full siblings.
36:33Full siblings?
36:35Now, that's something I didn't ever think I would have.
36:39Did they know about me?
36:52No.
36:52No-one knew about you.
36:55Wow.
36:57You have a brother.
37:00Mm-hmm.
37:00He's called Tim.
37:01OK.
37:02He was born in 1967.
37:04Two years older.
37:05Then you have a sister.
37:08She's called Jen.
37:09Mm-hmm.
37:10She was born in 1968.
37:13Another year.
37:14Hold on.
37:15Yeah.
37:15Then there was you.
37:17Yeah.
37:18Then there was a three-year gap.
37:20OK.
37:21Mm-hmm.
37:21And then there was Lynn.
37:23Mm-hmm.
37:24And she was born in 1972.
37:27Younger sister.
37:28It's...
37:35It's...
37:37I'm trying to process it.
37:42I feel like I've gone from having nobody to now having...
37:47..three full siblings.
37:51All very similar ages.
37:55Mm.
37:56It makes me happy to know that they were in a relationship as well.
38:05I mean, he wasn't around much.
38:07Right.
38:07He was in the Merchant Navy and then he had jobs that, you know,
38:10were on and off that would take him away often.
38:12But your birth mother loved him.
38:15Yeah.
38:15They did finally split up after Lynn was born.
38:19Mm-hmm.
38:19And there wasn't much money.
38:21Mm-hmm.
38:21She worked three jobs to try and put food on the table.
38:28That meant the kids were sometimes on their own and they remember growing up
38:32with this fear of social services coming round to take them away.
38:35Yeah.
38:38Wow.
38:39I can start to see perhaps now what the picture was,
38:42to understand why she felt that she couldn't keep me if he wasn't always there.
38:49This is your birth mother, Christine.
38:52Oh.
39:02Wow.
39:04Down by the beach.
39:08Dark hair.
39:09Yeah.
39:10Oh.
39:12Can you see any resemblance, do you think?
39:15A little bit, I think.
39:16I think there is a little bit here.
39:17Tasty, yeah.
39:19Definitely.
39:27Wow.
39:29Oh, bless her.
39:31I'd love to hear all about her.
39:33I really would.
39:34This is your birth father, Brian.
39:45There's a look there, isn't there?
39:47Mm.
39:48You are a mixture of both of those people.
39:52Definitely.
39:57Do my siblings know about me now?
40:00They do.
40:00It was a huge shock.
40:02Cock.
40:02Yeah.
40:03But they are happy.
40:04Really?
40:05Yeah.
40:17Well.
40:20I've got photos of them, if you'd like.
40:22I'd love to see them, yeah.
40:23I would really like to see them.
40:25I'm going to kick off with the firstborn.
40:27Your brother, Tim.
40:29Oh, my word.
40:32He feels so familiar.
40:39It's like, oh, that's just really strange.
40:43It's a strange feeling.
40:46This is your big sister, Jen.
40:48Yeah.
40:48Oh, wow.
40:50Wow.
40:50Wow.
41:00I'm looking.
41:03That's how I smile.
41:08This is Min.
41:12Oh, bless.
41:14Oh, bless her.
41:16Your little sister.
41:17My little sister.
41:20Oh.
41:24Wow.
41:28Oh.
41:29Oh, they all look fantastic.
41:31They're lovely.
41:35That's your birth family.
41:37Yeah.
41:4655 years ago, I was left as a foundling.
41:57I never, ever anticipated finding a full sibling, let alone three.
42:04I'm very nervous about meeting them today.
42:08But I can't wait to ask them all about my birth mum,
42:11what she was like when she was bringing them up.
42:14To feel a bit closer to them all.
42:16Tim, Jen and Lynne have travelled to a hotel in the New Forest
42:21to meet the full sister they never knew existed.
42:25It's strange. Everything's changed.
42:28Gosh, I'm so nervous.
42:30There's so many questions that we're never going to get the answers to,
42:33but we know our mum.
42:35We know that she wouldn't have done it if she had any other choice.
42:41It's time.
42:42Today is welcoming her to our family
42:45and just saying, this is us.
42:46It's great to meet you.
42:51It's great to meet you.
43:08Hi, I'm Lynne.
43:09Hi, Lisa.
43:11Hi, Lisa.
43:11Lovely to meet you.
43:13You too.
43:16Hi.
43:17Hi.
43:17Hi.
43:18Jen.
43:18Hi, Lisa.
43:19Yes.
43:22Lovely to meet you.
43:23Jen.
43:23Lovely to meet you.
43:24I'm just so sorry to put this bombshell in suddenly into your life.
43:35We're so sorry it's taken so long.
43:37We're all shocked.
43:38We honestly did not dream that our mum would have done that.
43:44That you were left.
43:45It just...
43:46I think that's what shocked me the most out of all of it.
43:50It was the first, yeah.
43:51It was how it happened.
43:52Whatever your mum did, she did the right thing for me.
43:56She made sure that I was found very early.
43:59And I thank her for that.
44:01Because I've had this really, really happy childhood.
44:05So, no regrets.
44:07Moving forward, you know, it's one of those things.
44:09She had her reasons and I completely respect her for that.
44:13It's so nice to hear you say that, actually.
44:15It's because she would have felt that she had no choice.
44:19Yeah.
44:19The decision she made.
44:20So, I hope, you know, you take some comfort for that.
44:23It's still difficult though, isn't it?
44:25It's probably half of you, Lynn, being younger than me.
44:28Because she left me and the feelings that she probably had after that,
44:33she probably thought she would never want to do that ever again.
44:37Yeah.
44:38Yes.
44:39It just touched my heart a little bit, the way she spoke about mum.
44:43Very understanding.
44:44You know, she said some lovely things and that just put me at ease.
44:49Can you tell me a little bit about her?
44:51She was a strong, very strong woman.
44:54She was very independent.
44:56Didn't want any handouts or anything like that.
44:58She would do it her own way.
44:59Yeah.
45:00I think I might have got a little bit of it, actually.
45:03We've all got that.
45:04I've definitely got it.
45:06Such a warm conversation.
45:08It's just very natural.
45:09I can't stop staring.
45:11I'm really sorry.
45:11No, you're just so honestly...
45:14So if she walked through the door, you could see that she was part of our family.
45:18And hopefully long may she be part of our family.
45:21I'm doing the staring now.
45:23I'm like staring at you guys, you know.
45:26You've got to look at my son.
45:28Ryan is looking forward to meeting you.
45:30It's emotional, but it can only be a positive emotion.
45:34Hiya.
45:34Hiya.
45:35Are you all right?
45:35Are you all right?
45:36This is Lynn.
45:37Welcome.
45:37Jen.
45:38Hi, Ryan.
45:38Nice to meet you.
45:41Nice to meet you.
45:42It's really nice to meet you all.
45:43It's really nice to meet you all.
45:43Yeah.
45:45I don't feel so alone.
45:47I have actually got a family history that goes back past me being found.
45:54Cheers.
45:54Cheers.
45:54Cheers.
45:55Cheers to family.
45:55Family.
45:57And to the future.
45:57And to the future.
45:58It's incredible.
45:59Comedians Joe Brand and Julian Clary push the comedy to one side when they explore their
46:08respective family's history on DNA Journey tomorrow night at nine o'clock and Sean Bean
46:13stars in the historical drama Shard Lake.
46:16It's streaming now on STV Player.
46:29It's streaming now on STV Player.
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45:08
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