Long Lost Family

Paul Connolly had a brutal childhood and was put out with the rubbish as a baby in east London and raised in care, while Shaun Lawrence had a happy adoption with wonderful parents but was always curious about his birth parents

Meet Sara Hathaway who, after losing her adoptive mother and older brother in the space of just a year, is desperate to find her birth family. Plus, Diane Kerridge shares her story of being forced to give up the child she gave birth to as a teenager in the 1960s. Over 50 years later, she is hoping to find her long lost son.

We take on the cases of Caroline Kinsey - who longs to find the son she gave up for adoption - and Paul McFarlane, whose assumptions about his family have been thrown into doubt.

Following one woman searching for her Jamaican-born birth father and another on the hunt for the half-brother that her mother gave up for adoption after his American serviceman father went home and off the radar following the Second World War.

Two women looking for siblings but for different reasons - Jeanette Woodyatt's father told her that he had a son who was adopted when he was young. Karen Turnbull was shocked to learn on the day of her mother's funeral that she had half-siblings.

Joe McGregor yearns to find his birth family, and Simon Miller wants to fulfill his mothers last wish.

This episode delves into the compelling narratives of two men who share a common experience – being born to unmarried mothers in Ireland during a period when such circumstances were stigmatized. Arthur Fitzharris, born in 1947, grew up in Ireland under the care of his adoptive parents, enjoying a content childhood. Bernard McGrath, born in 1953, remained oblivious to his adoption until he turned 40, when rumours began to circulate.