He could be anywhere in the world.

I hope you can find him.

Why did she let me go?

I want to know.

I need to know.

My brother was my whole world.

Where is he?

[Davina] There are many reasons why people across Britain are searching for missing family.

I found out... all my life is fake.

[man] What would that be like, if you never saw your child again?

Some have unsolved mysteries...

Behind every door, there's a story.

Behind that door's mine.

Others have difficult questions.

So, imagine the moment when the answer you need is just around the corner.

[Davina] I'm gonna be there in about 20 minutes.

-And the plot thickens.

-I know.

[Nicky] In this series, we uncover unexpected truths... -So this was deception?

-Yep, it was.

Mum was having an affair with somebody, and he wasn't Black.

...find people that no one else could trace... We have found your brother.

No way!

[laughs] ...and reunite families after a lifetime apart.

Just shows you that miracles still happen in this day and age.

[Davina] The bond between siblings can be incredibly strong, especially when it's been forged during difficult childhoods.

And even if they're separated for decades, that connection can still be felt.

[man] I always and always will remember Ricky as my best friend, my older brother... my protector, the person who looked after me.

I think if I knew that there was a chance that Ricky would never come home, I would have not let his hand go.

[keyboard clicking] [intriguing music playing] [Davina] 49-year-old Murray Philips manages a sports bar.

You've got the winning ticket?

He has a grown-up daughter and is engaged to Jenny.

[Murray] Alright, have a good evening at bingo.

Feel very happy, very lucky... We're like two peas in a pod.

But his early years were less happy.

He spent them in a children's home with his older brother, Ricky.

This is a picture of Ricky and myself in the children's home together.

[Murray] It wasn't a nice place to be.

You look back, and you think, "Well, actually, no, I didn't have that, and I didn't do that, and I was always hungry."

I always felt protected by Ricky.

He used to tuck me up in bed and give me a kiss.

-Did he do that every night?

-Every night, without fail.

And it'd be, "Are you all right?

Are you okay?"

And sometimes read me a story.

The hope of every child in the home was to be adopted.

We used to get a lot of people coming in visiting, and we were made to line up.

And I remember holding my brother's hand and saying, "I'm not leaving without him."

Eventually, Murray and Ricky were adopted together.

[Jenny] You both look really happy on that one.

I mean, it was just a great time.

I was proud as well to be part of a family and be chosen.

But the brothers did not have the same experience of their adoptive home.

I don't think Ricky's relationship with my parents was the same as what I had.

I was really close to my mum, and he wasn't so much.

And I think this got a little bit worse as the years went on.

After three years, Ricky was suddenly taken back into care.

[keyboard clicking] Murray only saw him one last time, when he visited Ricky at a children's home in Spalding, which has since been demolished.

Well, this is where I last saw Ricky over 40 years ago.

And I ran over to Ricky, and I threw my arms round him, and he reacted in a strange way that I'd never felt before.

He didn't hug me back.

He was like arms by the side and very stiff, wouldn't make eye contact with me, and completely the opposite as we'd always been.

So, I didn't understand that.

But I thought, "Maybe-- have I done something wrong?"

I thought we came to pick Ricky up and take him home.

And I didn't really understand why he wasn't getting back in the car.

And it was only then explained when we got home that he was never coming home again.

It was just-- someone just opened a big hole and put me in it.

You know...

It was difficult.

He was everything to me.

Still is.

Since the age of 18, Murray has searched for his brother, but with no success, and that's why he's come to us.

[Murray] I'll never stop looking for Ricky.

You look, and you find nothing, and you keep looking, and you find nothing.

[emotional] Just want to make sure he's okay.

Have you checked all the databases?

[Nicky] We began by searching for Ricky under his adoptive surname, but drew a blank.

Next, we tried his birth surname, and again, got nothing.

[Carol] Do you happen to know the name of the agency that was involved in the placement?

[Nicky] Then, our specialist social workers discover that Ricky had left the children's home at 15 and had been taken in by a family called the Barneses.

So, had he taken their name?

We found a Ricky Barnes on social media who talked about having been to school close to the children's home in Spalding.

This was surely our man.

This is desperately sad.

Two kids in care torn apart.

How does that affect the way that you approach Ricky?

Well, I have to make the assumption that Ricky's experience of the adoption, being back in the care system, must have made him vulnerable.

And as a social worker, we knew when we were looking for Ricky that we would have to proceed with great caution.

I made contact with him, and he was very happy to be found.

But Ricky wasn't in Spalding anymore.

[keyboard clicking] Ricky has been living in Canada for over 20 years.

He's divorced, with a grown-up daughter.

Murray has never got over being separated from his big brother all those years ago.

So, why did Ricky leave, and how does he feel about being found, 40 years on?

Ricky had a major stroke at the age of 47, and we're meeting at the assisted living facility where he's recovering.

-Ricky, hi.

-How are you?

How are you?

Very well, thank you.

Where will we go?

Up here?

-[Ricky] Yeah.

-What a great spot this is.

-I love it.

-Do you?

-[Ricky] Love it.

-Yeah.

It's great to see you.

[Ricky] Yeah, thank you very much.

It's great to be here and really, really good to meet you.

I know you had a stroke a few years ago.

-[Ricky] Yeah.

-How are you now?

-How's your recovery?

-[Ricky] Good.

I was, um... wheelchair, and I can't speak zero.

And I learned the hard way to stand up.

[Nicky] It's great.

So, on the way back, and now this has happened!

Unbelievable.

-My Murray.

-"My Murray."

[Ricky] Yeah.

What do you remember of Murray when he was a little boy?

Murray and me, we like that.

-Like what?

-Like that.

Uh, joined hip, hips.

The curly-haired, uh, blond boy who has a smile to light my life.

He remembers you when you were very little.

He remembers you looking after him... [Ricky] Yeah.

And when you were in the care homes, he remembers you coming down from the top bunk to tuck him in every night and to say goodnight to him... -Yeah.

-...to make sure he was okay.

-Do you remember that?

-Yeah.

All my life... Murray, Murray, Murray.

Gorgeous boy.

So, Murray has always wondered what happened.

Why did you leave?

My... -My mum.

-Who adopted... -Yeah.

-...you and Murray?

She spanked me.

I was the one who stole.

You stole from your adoptive mother?

[Ricky] Yeah.

-And I am ashamed of it.

-No-- no need to be ashamed.

You've been in the care system since you were 3 years old.

Of course you're a bit confused and muddled up.

-Who wouldn't be?

-Yeah.

It's not your fault.

She spanked me.

On the floor, saucepan, bang, bang, bang, bang.

She loved Murray, not me.

Period.

God, Ricky, that must have been awful for you.

So, you had a difficult relationship -with your adoptive mother.

-Yeah.

And that's why they basically sent you back?

She asked me to go.

And Murray was in the bedroom, and I was outside, and along came Social Services and take me away.

-And you were 12?

-Yep.

At the children home, I cried my eyes out.

Uh, I called Murray, and she answered and put the phone down.

He thought you were coming back.

No.

Gone.

-Gone.

-Gone forever.

Until now.

All his adult life, he has been searching for you.

-Yeah.

-He's wanted to find you.

[Ricky] Yeah.

He remembers his big brother, and that's you.

Yeah.

Do you want to see a photo of him?

[Ricky] Yes, please.

[papers ruffling] Bald head!

[laughs] Like me.

Murray.

The eyes...

Happy, happy, happy.

So, let me tell you about Murray.

He's almost 50 years old.

He was married, but that didn't work out.

But now, he's engaged to Jen, and he has a daughter, Laura, who is at university.

Wow!

He owns a sports bar in Tamworth.

-Are you're into sport?

-Yep.

Liverpool was for me, and Nottingham Forest for Murray, yeah.

Murray's written you a letter.

-Can I read it to you?

-Yes, please.

[Nicky] "Dear Ricky, my big brother.

It's been a very long time since I've seen you or heard your voice.

I always remember our time together as children as a happy time, mainly because of you.

You were my big brother and always looked out for me.

You comforted me when I was sad.

You were not just my big brother, but my protector, more like a mum, dad.

I thank you for that.

I miss not having you in my life.

I blamed myself for many years when I realized you were not coming back.

You have always been in my thoughts.

I will always wish you well.

My only concern is that you are safe and well.

Your little brother, Murray."

Thank you.

-It's a lovely letter, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Yep.

And I cry in my room, not here.

You happy?

Bloody happy!

[both laugh] My heart was "ba-boom-ba-boom-ba-boom."

Yeah.

Happy, happy, happy.

My brother is coming to see me.

[upbeat music playing] [Davina] No matter how old or how settled we are in our lives, we never fully escape what happened to us in our formative years.

And for many people who grow up without their birth families, that need to find out where they're from never goes away... as our next searcher, our oldest ever, can testify.

[keyboard clicking] [man] We just knew nothing about our families.

I just thought I was abandoned.

87-year-old Mark Chesterfield is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

But he didn't grow up with a family.

I never thought I would ever be back here.

I was given in to the family hospital on the 5th of July, 1934... when I was 11 weeks old.

Now a school, in the middle of the 20th Century, this was an institution for children whose parents were unable to care for them.

[Mark] I was born Malcolm Bruce Wilcox.

On being handed over to the family hospital, their first task was to change my name.

They changed it to Mark Chesterfield, and the Foundling Hospital governors issued me a number-- 24246.

There was a lot of bad times.

Very bad.

We didn't have love.

We didn't have care.

No sign of affection at all.

The headmaster thrilled to thrash boys, and he would come along here, from his office, and he would-- with his cane, punishment book under his arm-- and he'd go... and he'd come in, and he'd say, "Punishment list for today."

They'd cane you for anything.

It was very cruel.

Very, very cruel.

At the age of 15, Mark left the Foundling Hospital.

He joined the Royal Air Force at 18, and in 1955, he married Betty.

We're still together.

We still love each other, actually, yeah.

We have four children left.

Beautiful kids, all of them.

Every single one.

For most of his life, Mark had no information about his own origins.

It never occurred to me that there was things to know, you know?

But 15 years ago, he finally received a file that the Foundling Hospital had kept on him.

There was no useful information about Mark's father, but it did contain devastating evidence that his mother had tried to be part of his life.

Here is the first Christmas card: "Loving wishes for a happy Christmas, with all my love to my darling baby, Mummy."

My first birthday card.

I never saw it.

My first Christmas card...

I never saw that.

She was also writing to the Foundling Hospital, enquiring on my wellbeing.

"Dear Sir, I should be glad if you would let me know how my baby is.

Do you think the committee would allow me to have my baby?"

I can't read it.

I can't read it.

It's...

Sorry.

It, uh... [exhales forcefully] I can't... [sniffs] I was shocked when I saw these, emotionally.

Yeah, it's-- I read them sometimes when I'm sort of feeling low, you know?

Because it showed me that she cared, and I had always thought that I was thrown to the wolves, you know.

It means so much, you know, to show that I was wanted, and all my life, I'd thought I was an orphan.

But I wasn't.

[keyboard clicking] Mark found out that Eileen had been born in a village in Wales, and he visited the local Registry Office.

I went up there to see what I could find.

It's my mother's birth certificate.

"Eileen Florence Wilcox, born on the 23rd of February, 1908, in Church Cottage, Llanarth."

To get this when I was 74 years old was like gold to me.

Gave her substance.

It was great to know that I could say that I come from somewhere.

Mark's mother had died.

She had two younger children, Jeremy and Yolande, and he made contact with them 13 years ago.

But that wasn't the end of the trail.

[keyboard clicking] [Nicky] Little did he know, we'd also be able to trace family on his father's side.

But, for now, I'm going to catch up with his sister Yolande to find out what it was like to have a brother appear so late in life.

So, did she always know about Mark?

And what can she tell me about their mother?

[knocking on door] Yolande, how are you doing?

I'm Nicky.

Hello, Nicky, how are you?

-I'm very well, thank you.

-Please come in.

[Nicky] Thank you.

-It's lovely to meet you.

-It's nice to meet you too.

So, when did you know that you had another brother?

It was about 20 years ago.

My cousin Judith and I were very close.

We'd gone through some old family pictures, and we came across, uh, a postcard-size picture with a baby on it.

And I turned it over, and it said "Malcolm Bruce."

And I said to Judy, "Who's Malcolm Bruce?"

And she said, "I don't know."

And there was a voice in the background, my mother's cousin, and she said, "Your mother should have kept you babies together."

I'm like, "Pardon?"

And she said, "Your mother should have kept you babies together."

And I said, "What babies?"

So I went to see Mum.

She was about 91 at that point, and I did say to her, "Malcolm Bruce."

And she said, "What do you know about him?"

And I said, "I understand he's my brother.

Why didn't you tell me?"

And she sort of said, "It's nothing to do with you.

Nothing to do with you at all."

So, what happened?

She became pregnant, and she was a nurse in residence, so she lived in with a family, and she didn't have a home of her own.

She couldn't have dared, would she, have said, "Well, I'm not married, and I'm having a baby."

She would have been ostracized.

[Nicky] Mm.

Did you think about trying to trace your brother?

Yes.

We tried really hard to find a Malcolm Bruce.

We just couldn't find anything to do with that at all.

So, it made it really very difficult.

So, I-- I did feel guilty over that.

But I can't change it.

-[sniffs] Anyway.

-Guilt?

Well, because I feel that we didn't find him early enough.

But I know Mother would have been really thrilled.

She really would.

[keyboard clicking] [Davina] Mark has been completely welcomed into his new siblings' lives.

[Yolande] Hello.

[both laugh] It's just any excuse for a cuddle.

Yolande and I get on like... like that, you know.

She bosses me about, and I love it.

It's very difficult to explain, but... it means so much to me and all the other... um, lost people, to be accepted... you know?

[Yolande] Mark is very, very kind hearted.

You know, he's... he's a lovely, big bear of a big brother.

I think my mother would have been proud of him.

Today, Yolande's showing Mark their mother's childhood home for the first time.

[Yolande] So, this is where our mother was born, in one of these rooms in 1908.

I have got some photographs of when she was here.

So, that's Eileen, our mother, when she was about 3 and a half to 4.

[Mark] Yes.

[Mark] Standing here and looking at this cottage... -[Yolande] Yeah... -...at my age, I would never, ever give it a thought that I'd ever be stood outside.

And I can feel from that building... -Good.

-...something.

Yes.

Yeah.

[Mark] I will treasure this moment.

[Yolande] Yeah.

[tearful] Thank you.

[Yolande] It's okay.

[Mark] It's amazing.

[voice breaking] You don't know how grateful I am.

But there's still one key piece of Mark's identity that he needs to reclaim.

[Mark] Did Mother ever tell you anything about my father?

-No.

-No.

It's like having all the information -on my family tree in a box.

-Mm.

And I can't shut the lid down, because it is not full.

-[Yolande] That's right.

-But it would be full if I could find out who my father was.

[Mark] I'll be 88 in a couple of weeks' time, and if I know who my father is, then I will have filled what I was looking for in life.

And if I don't find out who my father is, I will leave this place incomplete.

[keyboard clicking] Murray Philips last saw his older brother Ricky 40 years ago, when Ricky left their adoptive family and went back into care.

Since the day they were separated, Murray has wondered what happened to Ricky.

Decades of searching came to nothing.

But, today, I can give him the news that we've found his big brother.

-Hi, Davina.

-Hi, Murray.

-Please come in.

-Aw, thank you.

Thanks very much.

You want to come through to the kitchen?

[Davina] Yeah, great.

Thank you for, um, talking to me today, Murray.

[Murray] It's not a problem.

So, what is the need to find your brother?

I mean, I've searched for years, um, to try and find Ricky.

Ricky was everything to me.

He looked out for me, and he'd always protect me.

He was my brother, bit like my mum and dad as well, -all rolled into one.

-Mm.

I missed him-- every day.

And it's little things, where... you do things, like my daughter's 18th... -Yeah.

-...just wish Ricky was there.

And, sometimes, I used to look to the left of me, thinking he was there, I'd picture him.

Well, I've come today 'cause I have got a bit of news.

Okay.

Ricky has been found.

Best day of my life.

It is.

Apart from my daughter.

It's amazing, really is.

-[Davina] It is amazing.

-Yeah, it's amazing.

[Davina] His memory of why he left was that he had a very difficult relationship with your adoptive mother.

He knew that it wasn't the same for you.

He felt that his actions made your adoptive mum -treat him... -Yeah.

...in an unfair way.

He said.

"I was a bad boy."

And our social worker said that children in care often blame themselves for things.

[Murray] Yes.

I knew that it wasn't his fault.

I always wondered why he went, 'cause it was never explained to me.

He'd think probably protecting me, because if he had explained it to me, -I'd have gone with him.

-Yeah.

Although no one wants to go back into care, 'cause it's like hell... [Davina] Yeah.

...he knows that we were so close, I would have just said, "Ricky, I love you," -and he's again protecting me.

-Protecting you.

I think that's probably one of the first things I'd say to him, you know, "I look up to you," and I still do.

And I've never had a bad thought ever about him.

[voice breaking] And I want him to know that.

Have you got a photo?

'Cause when I left him, he was around 11 years old, with the little bowl cut and the cheeks, and that's my last memory.

This is your brother.

-Wow!

-[laughs] I can see the resemblance with me in that.

[Davina] Yeah, totally.

[Murray] He looks exactly like me.

He's still got the same eyes, got the same hairline as me as well.

That's great.

I pictured him a little bit like he was.

[Davina] Yes.

I didn't think he'd look exactly like me.

[laughs] [Davina] I'm gonna tell you a little bit about him.

So, he emigrated to Canada, to British Columbia.

-Okay.

-Twenty-two years ago.

He worked out there as a carpenter.

He's not with, uh, the lady that he moved out there to be with anymore.

-But they did have a daughter.

-That's great.

-And... -So, I'm an uncle.

-Yeah.

-[laughs] But he did have a stroke in 2016.

-Okay.

-He's making great progress, but he sometimes has a problem with speech.

[Murray] Okay.

But he's improving all the time.

Yes.

-He has written you something.

-Okay.

He wanted to write it himself, even though it was quite difficult... -Yes, yeah.

-...to do.

Yeah, I can imagine.

[Murray] "Hello, Murray.

How are you?

I remember curly blond hair, gorgeous smile, that's how I remember you.

I wonder at the man you've become.

Looking forward to meet you, Murray.

I love you.

From Ricky."

That's great.

The most important thing on there is: "Looking forward to meet you."

-[Davina] And "love you."

-Yeah, and love me, like I do with him, you know.

-And you never lose that.

-No.

As brothers.

I want to thank him for looking after me, you know.

I wouldn't be the man I am today without him.

And I want to thank him for that.

Thank you for finding him.

[keyboard clicking] Murray has traveled over 4,000 miles to Canada to reunite with his big brother.

[Murray] Last time I saw Ricky was when I was 9, so, I'm very excited, feeling very excited this morning.

Ricky has prepared a book of photographs of the special moments in his life.

[Ricky] This is my daughter, Phoebe, and me.

I give it to Murray as a keepsake.

I never thought this day would come.

I can't wait to see Murray.

[Murray] We used to follow football, and we chose our teams.

Ricky chose Liverpool, and I chose Nottingham Forest.

I've got Ricky a current Liverpool shirt, and I've managed to get his name put on it as well.

Ricky was a big Liverpool football fan.

Hopefully he still is, because if he supports Derby, I've bought the wrong shirt!

[sentimental music playing] The brothers are meeting at a hotel close to Ricky's care home.

-[Murray] How you doing?

-Hello.

How are you?

Good.

Come here.

I've missed you.

And I've missed you.

-Been a long time, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

A bloody long time.

Yeah.

[both laugh] -I am happy.

-Good.

I'm really happy as well to see you.

Have a seat there.

-It's really good to see you.

-Unbelievable.

-Your face is beautiful.

-Thank you.

When I saw your photo, I was like, "That's me!"

[Ricky] Yeah, yeah.

Good-looking.

[laughs] Yeah.

Bald.

[both laugh] I'm amazed by you.

I am amazed.

-I missed you every day.

-Yeah.

And I thought of you in every occasion, because we were so close... -Yeah.

-...as children.

And I only remember little bits from the children's home, and I never realized growing up what happened to you, through no fault of your own.

You know, it must have been horrific for you.

[Ricky] Yeah.

Um...

But we're together again.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

So, it's a great weight off my shoulders when I found out that, um-- -You were alive.

And me alive.

-Yes.

As soon as I give him a big hug, and he give me a big hug back, I could just see the spark in his eye.

He looked at me the same way, and we thought, "We're brothers again."

It did-- you know, it's a wonderful feeling.

You've always been in my mind.

-I always asked about you.

-Yeah.

And they kept saying I was too young, I was too young.

You were brushed away, and I really thought that I had something to do with it.

No.

I thought it best to leave you behind.

You were safe.

I was not safe.

And I left.

And I protect you.

'Cause you didn't want to be apart from me, and I didn't want to be apart from you.

-Yes.

-You know.

But four months in, I contact you, and no Murray at all, and put the phone down.

-You rang me?

-Yep.

Four month in.

See, they never told me that.

It must have been horrific for you.

-Yeah.

-You protected me, and I've carried that memory through everything that I do, and the way you looked after me, you weren't just my brother during the children's homes, you were my mum and dad as well.

-Wow!

-And that's made me who I am.

When there's been situations, where things have gone wrong, I would think, "Well, what would Ricky do?"

And, honestly, that's how I felt all the way through my life.

To me, you're my hero, and you always will be.

I just want to thank you for that.

[Ricky] Thank you very much.

-[Murray] Come here.

-[Ricky laughs] [Ricky] My brother!

My heart was ba-boom-ba- boom-ba-boom-ba-boom-ba-boom.

But after a while, it get fonder, yep.

And fonder.

And I-- I love him, absolutely love him.

I got you something.

[Murray] Thank you.

This is a lovely gift, this is.

-[Ricky] Look at Phoebe.

-Yeah.

I watched her play soccer.

Right foot and a left foot.

-Natural.

-And unbelievable fast.

-Takes after me, then.

-[Ricky, laughing] Yeah.

Your family, big or small?

Small.

I've got one daughter, Laura.

She's gonna become a primary school teacher.

[Ricky] Wow!

I'll show you photos later, but she looks like me with hair.

[Ricky, laughing] Yeah.

-Well, open that.

-Okay.

Unbelievable.

Liverpool.

The best.

[laughs] And that's to make up for all the birthdays I've missed, but never gonna miss another birthday.

Thank you very much.

[Ricky] Thank you very much.

That's no problem.

[Murray] I've got my big brother back.

You know, it's fab.

Not many things that's gonna surpass meeting your brother for the first time in 40 years.

[Murray] And it's only gonna get better.

[Ricky] The bond we have... We're like that.

Unbelievable.

The best ever.

[Murray] This year is the best year, isn't it?

-Unbelievable.

-I've got my big bro back.

Yep.

And I got my bro back as well.

Not knowing if he was okay, whether he was alive or what had happened... and all the questions have been answered.

So, I feel on top of the world.

I love you.

I love you too, brother.

[laughs] -Always have and always will.

-Unbelievable.

[Nicky] Known by a number during his childhood, Mark Chesterfield has always longed to discover his true identity.

Having found siblings on his mother's side, Mark is now desperate to uncover who his father was.

[Mark] It is important to me, yes.

I need to find out about my father.

We asked Mark for a sample of his DNA.

We uploaded it onto an online database, and our genealogists immediately found a family link.

I'll send the names over to you.

Great.

Thanks very much.

We could tell that Mark's father was one of two deceased brothers, but, unfortunately, we didn't know which one.

We'll need to find their descendants and encourage them to take a test, so we can decide which of those two is Mark's father.

Fortunately, the granddaughter of one of these men, Elaine, was willing to do a DNA test that gave us our answer.

88 years on, we knew who Mark's father was.

[keyboard clicking] [intriguing music playing] Mark feared he would never discover his father's identity.

It's been a lifelong mystery.

But, today, I finally get to tell Mark, once and for all, where he comes from.

-Hi, Mark.

-Hello, Davina.

-How you doing?

-Welcome.

Come in.

Thank you very much.

[Davina] It's lovely to meet you.

[Mark] Yeah.

Thank you, Mark, for talking to me today.

To be able to find your birth mother is nothing short of miraculous, but then you set your sights on finding your birth father.

Why is finding your birth father so important?

Because I think everybody should know who-- who his parents were.

-It feels like a child's right.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I think it is.

Mm.

Well, I've come here today because I do want to give you some news.

Right... We have found out who your father was.

Good Lord!

We did have, um, a DNA hit for you on your father's side.

And with a bit of detective work, we found your father's name and a bit more about who he was.

-Right.

-He was called Walter.

Now, that is a name I've never heard.

That's okay.

I like that, actually.

So, he was born in 1907, and he died in 1960.

-That's 53.

-53.

[exhales] Wow.

Wow.

Is there any more shocks to come?

-A little bit.

-Right.

He was married.

He had a daughter with his wife, in 1933.

-Which is the year before me.

-Which is the year before you.

So, he was most likely married at the time he was with your mother.

Oh!

That's a complete, absolute-- complete-- not shock, but, um, yeah.

-What did he do?

-He worked in the rag trade.

-Right.

-He lived in London.

-Right.

-He was British, but he did have some Irish ancestry in there.

I-- I have got a photograph of your father.

Go on.

This is your birth father.

Good Lord!

[gentle music starts to play] [exhales] That's the biggest shock I've had in a long time.

Thank you very much.

Brilliant.

[exhales] -Well, pity he's not around.

-Yes.

-I'd love to have met him.

-Mm.

But there you go.

Well, I'm blowed.

Can't get over that.

What's it feel like to have answers on both sides?

It means a lot.

It'll take me a couple of days to get over this.

Well, more than that, I expect.

So, your DNA matched a cousin, Elaine.

Elaine would really like to meet you.

Yes.

Absolutely superb.

That's brilliant.

A lot of people have gone to a lot of effort for me... -Yes.

-...and I'm very, very grateful.

[woman's voice, laughter] Today, Mark's family have joined him to welcome his newfound cousin.

This will be the first time he's met anyone from his father's side of the family.

-That's Elaine.

-[woman] Are you excited?

[Mark] Yes, I am.

I am very pleased that she's coming here to meet me, but also to meet all of you.

Granddad, is this your dad's brother's daughter?

Granddaughter.

Nice to meet someone from that side of the family.

[Mark] Yeah.

-Hello, Elaine.

-Hello.

[laughs] How are you?

I'm very well.

[Elaine laughs] You've come a long way today?

Come a long way, yeah.

You okay?

I'm good.

I get-- I get very emotional... and I'm pleased and thankful that you offered your DNA, and they were able to prove the answer which I've waited 88 years for.

[Elaine laughs] Well... To not know for so long, for 88 years, who your father was, I can't imagine what that's like.

And I'm just really pleased for him that he now knows.

It's lovely to meet you.

Really is.

Yeah.

And it's lovely to meet you, and I've got a whole bunch of people over... [Elaine laughs] [Mark] I know more about me than I ever knew existed, quite frankly.

Fantastic.

Absolutely fantastic.

And you've crowned it today by actually bringing me a blood relative to meet.

I'm... overjoyed.

I'd like to give you this toast-- to us.

-[woman] Yeah.

-Us.

Everyone.

[laughs] -Ooh, that's... -Cheers.

And thank you for coming all this way.

[Elaine] Cheers.

[glasses clink] [Mark] May we have a long and happy relationship.

[Elaine] Cheers.

[laughs] -[Mark] Cheers.

-[woman] Cheers.

[peaceful music playing]