Over the last six years, we've reunited more than 200 people with their long-lost relatives.

They've found her!

[both screaming and laughing] Debbie.

Debbie.

You're my son.

This is my birth mummy, Kate.

[Davina] But the reunion is just the beginning.

-I'm your big brother.

-[laughs] How easy is it to build a relationship after a lifetime apart?

The reunion opened a can of worms.

I've imagined this moment my whole life.

[crying] My whole life.

This is the series where we find out What Happened Next.

For once, I've got somebody who's there for me.

Oh, my darling boy.

This week, we catch up with three people whose searches have transformed their lives.

It's awful not being able to just go down the road to see him.

I've got a massive new family in Barbados that I never knew anything about.

But has the reunion been everything they expected?

[man] I'm thinking, "I've just got my mum back.

Now we might lose her."

[dramatic music ends] In the six years since Long Lost Family began, we've reunited more than a hundred parents and their children.

Our first story features Peter Gunn, who'd spent years searching for his birth mother.

But not long after he'd found her, Peter had to face the possibility that he might lose her all over again.

[buzzing] Peter is a carpenter and lives in Bishop Stortford, next door to his adoptive mother, Miriam.

[Peter] She's nearly 80.

[Miriam] What's in the oven?

-[Peter] Garlic bread.

-Oh.

[Peter] She's been there throughout everything.

She is a very special woman.

She really is.

Peter had been adopted by Miriam and her husband when he was 9 months old.

It was a loving, caring, stable environment.

I was never, ever made to feel any different.

But his parents' marriage broke down, and his father left.

What would have been a difficult time for any child was especially so for Peter.

Just felt like another rejection.

Once by my birth mother, and then by my adoptive dad.

And I started to feel there was something missing.

And I feel guilty to even think that.

Especially after my mum's given me so much love.

I used to turn to Mum for everything.

Mum was the fixer.

But that's the one thing she couldn't fix.

When Peter was 18, he applied for his adoption file.

In it, he discovered a letter written by his birth mother.

[Peter] "If I could do anything to keep him I would do, but that would mean cutting myself away from my family, whom I love dearly."

She had a choice, me or her family.

Why would she choose her family over her newly born baby?

[metal clanging] I had a lot of emotions that I couldn't deal with.

I would just go and get drunk, get high.

[engine starting] Do whatever it took to get rid of those emotions.

Finding it hard to cope with his feelings of rejection, over the next 15 years, Peter developed a drug habit which spiralled out of control.

[engine racing] It got to a stage I'd lost a lot of weight, I looked ill.

I looked like someone with a bad habit would look.

So.

[Miriam] I think we would have lost him.

He would have just gone under and died.

And I thought, "My God, how can I stop this?"

In 2007, Miriam re-mortgaged her house and got Peter treatment for his addiction.

He hasn't touched drugs since.

There's no way I could have done any of that without Mum's help.

Not only did she pay for it, she was there, emotionally supporting me throughout.

Peter and his adoptive mother, Miriam, both felt it was important he find his birth mother and learn the truth about his adoption.

[Miriam] I think it's very important for him to meet her and just find out why things happened.

If I could hear, "I wanted us to be together, but circumstances wouldn't allow," that's all that matters-- that she did try to keep me.

[Nicky] Peter's adoption papers show that his birth mother was called Daphne Hazel Marshall, and that she came from County Wicklow, on the east coast of Ireland.

After a lengthy search, we discovered she was still living there and was now called Daphne Phelan.

[Nicky] Thank you very much.

Daphne's divorced, with two children.

So, how's it been since you found out that... [both] Peter.

...has, uh, been looking for you?

Very anxious... time it has been.

I had no intentions of giving him away.

My father was very strict.

Methodist.

He actually kept warning me, "If you ever get pregnant, don't ever darken the door again."

So... -Never come back.

-No.

He was just so strict.

What were your plans for yourself and Peter?

I really was in a bad situation.

I had no money.

I couldn't afford to feed myself and feed him at the same time.

The baby came first.

So, I took the one option that I could, and that was to have him adopted.

How old was he?

Be about 9 months.

Had there been any chance at all, he would still be with me today.

I've got a photograph of him now, for you.

Okay.

Oh.

Oh.

[sentimental music notes] I can imagine him as a baby.

Oh.

No matter what words I can say, I can never tell him how sorry I am.

Back in England, I went to see Peter.

What's the need in you to find your birth mother?

I'd love to meet her, and I'd love to just sit down and talk to her and find out the truth behind why she put me up for adoption.

Well, we have found your mum.

-Really?

-Yeah.

[sighs heavily] That really is amazing.

Oh.

Is she willing to meet?

She is.

[crying] It's amazing.

You were with her 'til you were 9 months old.

Really?

[crying] I didn't know that.

I really didn't.

This was not a choice that your mum wanted to make.

Her dad was very strict.

Methodist.

She just thought the best thing for you would be to take you somewhere where you could have the best things in life.

-I was with her for 9 months?

-Hmm.

That must have been so hard for her, to-- to hand me to somebody else.

Would you like to see a picture?

-Yeah, have you got one?

-Yeah.

[Davina] There's your mum.

Oh wow.

[crying] [exhaling] Just to know that she wants to be a part of my life... is phenomenal.

I can't-- I just can't wait for it to start.

That same week, Peter and Daphne met in Bedford, the last place that they'd been together.

[suspenseful music playing] There's no denying you're mine.

You're so lovely [laughs] [Daphne] So are you.

-Are you okay?

-Yeah.

Shall we sit down?

It's so lovely to see you.

It really is.

[Daphne] Oh, I can't believe it.

There was no-- I had never had an intent in-- any intentions of having you adopted.

Never.

I kept you as long as I could.

Had I been able to bring you home, you would have been with me.

I can't tell you how much that means.

I couldn't do it.

That was the only way that you could get a decent life, to be with somebody else.

The fact that I know that you tried means so much to me now, because I didn't-- I didn't think you had.

-Oh, yeah, I had.

-And now... we can start something remarkable.

-Hopefully.

-Yeah.

[Peter] To know that she really wanted to keep me... that feels so good.

This is Daphne.

[Miriam] Hello.

Hello.

I am so pleased to meet you.

I'm pleased to meet you.

Thank you for our son.

Thank you for looking after him.

Since reuniting 18 months ago, Daphne's visited Peter in England, and Peter's made frequent trips to Ireland.

This is Peter's 15th visit to see his birth mum.

[Daphne] I go around now on cloud nine.

I always had a tonne weight on my shoulders, concerned about him and where he was and... Now it's just-- I feel lighter.

I bounce around.

[laughs] It's all happened so fast, so... Yeah a bit of a shock, alright, to the system.

[laughs] [Peter] There was a time where I was very lost, which was a dark time in my life.

I was always trying to fit in, and now I don't feel as though I have to try to fit in.

I do, and this is where I fit in.

It's fantastic.

Really is good.

[Daphne] He's opened up a whole new world for me and...

I'm going to start crying.

Um...

It's great to have him back in my life after so many years.

But three months ago, Peter received a phone call that could have changed everything.

His birth mother had been taken into hospital suffering with severe headaches.

[Peter] I immediately got on a plane and I came over, and we were incredibly concerned.

She was very dazed, very confused, and there was talk-- because mum is a survivor of cancer, there was talk that it could possibly be some kind of brain cancer.

In my head, I'm thinking, you know, "I've just got my mum back, and now... now we might lose her."

Just a year after Peter Gunn was reunited with his birth mother Daphne, she was rushed into hospital, suffering from severe headaches.

I don't remember anything about it.

I don't remember Peter being here.

I don't remember anything for three and a half weeks.

Luckily, Daphne recovered and was discharged from hospital.

[Peter] It was very, very scary.

We still don't know to this day what she had.

We're very lucky.

Very lucky.

Peter had already decided he wanted to move to Ireland, but Daphne's illness has made him speed up those plans.

If I could, I'd move here tomorrow.

I feel as though I've already missed out on 39 years.

I need to catch that up, and I'm not gonna do it while I'm in the UK.

[lighthearted music playing] On this visit, Peter's come with his adoptive mother, Miriam.

[Miriam] Isn't it lovely along here?

-[Peter] It is.

-So pretty.

And they've made a momentous decision.

They're going to move to Ireland together.

[Peter] Miriam has been my mum and my best friend.

I asked her if she would be up for moving, and I wouldn't do it without her.

I wouldn't contemplate on leaving her.

Do you think you'll be happy moving over here?

Definitely.

The more we come over here and the more I see, the more settled I feel.

Today, they're house hunting.

-[Miriam] Wow.

-This is beautiful, isn't it?

[Miriam] Oh, look at this Peter.

-Look at the views.

-Beautiful.

[Miriam] Goodness me.

Ever since Peter made his first visit over here, I knew that Ireland was going to be his home.

-[Miriam] This is nice.

-This is the kitchen.

-[Miriam] This is very nice.

-The dining room.

[Miriam] He had that sort of settled feeling about him.

It was, "You ought to see it, Mum, it's totally different.

You'll love it."

[Peter] Look at the hills over there.

-[Miriam] I know.

-The trees.

They're really lovely, aren't they?

I'm hoping over here, when we move here, it's just gonna bring everybody closer together.

That's the plan, and I think it's-- yeah, I'm looking forward to it, I can't wait.

Miriam and Daphne have met each other three times since the reunion and are getting on well.

We'll just take the day as it comes and see what happens.

Thank you, Pete, that looks delicious.

[Peter] I'm blessed 'cause I've got two mums.

I find it easier to call them "Mummy D" and "Mummy Miriam."

[laughs] I find that the easiest.

The last year, I've-- I just feel more comfortable.

Just feel... happy being me and happy knowing that I've got my family around me now.

I always knew that there was another mum somewhere.

And if you go into adoption, you've got to be ready for it.

[Daphne] I have the greatest respect for Miriam.

I owe her a debt of gratitude that I'd never, ever be able to repay.

In my heart, she's been my savior.

I've waited years to have him back in my life.

There isn't words to describe how I feel, I just feel so happy inside.

[Peter] Life's just changed so much, and that's phenomenal.

[laughs] It's the best ever.

Our next search features a woman who came to us desperate to find her dad.

But what she wouldn't have known is how much more her search would uncover and where it would take her.

When 33-year-old Jade Hartley approached us in the summer of 2014, she'd been trying to trace her father for 12 years.

[Jade] I've never met him.

I've only ever had a photograph of him.

He was called Tony King and he was from Barbados, and he was like the-- well, the person that made me.

Jade was brought up by her mother and stepfather in Seaham, County Durham, and now works as a hairdresser.

Growing up as a mixed-race child in a mostly white community, Jade found life difficult.

[Jade] People would pick up on that my father was Black.

They would call us like half caste or blackie, like things like that.

It makes you feel that bit alone.

Like, I'm getting picked on for all these things, but there's nobody that actually shares these traits and, in my family, so, it just doesn't make you feel like you've got... [crying] anybody to relate to in that way.

As she grew up, Jade wanted to learn more about the man she'd inherited her looks from.

I remember asking my mum about who my dad was, and as soon as I started asking questions, my mum gave me the photograph and told us everything what she knew about who he was.

Jade's father, Tony King, had a one-year contract to play for Seaham Harbour Cricket Club in 1982, when he met Jade's mother, Glynis.

They started going out, but just as Tony's contract with the cricket club was coming to an end, Glynis discovered she was pregnant.

My mum said she knew that she wanted to have her baby and he said that he couldn't stay.

So, she resigned herself to the fact that she was gonna be doing it on her own, because he had to leave.

After Tony left England, he and Glynis lost touch.

He must have thought about that life that he'd created back in England.

I would like to meet him.

[Nicky] After an extensive social media campaign, we discovered Tony was still living in Barbados.

We'd learned that he was still involved in cricket, as an umpire for his local league in the district of St Philip.

-Hi, Nicky.

-How are you doing?

-Not as good as you, man.

-[laughs] Let's go talk.

When you heard the news, what was, uh, what was your first feeling?

I was most aghast person when I heard the news.

It was something I was always thinking about.

I always had this feeling that it was a girl.

I always had this feeling, and it is exciting for me.

How did you feel at the time when Glynis told you that she was pregnant?

I was tipsy turvy with it, and all kind of things came to my head and, you know.

It was cricket contract and I knew that the contract was not gonna be renewed.

So, that was it.

Was it tough to go?

Leaving England and not going to see what my first born was looking like, you know, it was hurt, but I had to live with it.

All her life, she's wanted you in her life, and now...

There's your little girl.

[sentimental music playing] She's beautiful, man.

-She looks so like you.

-[sighs] My daughter, man.

I need to see her.

It would be the biggest day of my life.

[Davina] Back in Seaham, I went to tell Jade the news that we'd found her father.

This need to find your dad, tell me about that.

I've always had this photograph, and it was surreal to think that's like, my dad.

That's, like, the other half of me.

And have you thought about-- he won't look like that anymore.

No, I've tried to picture him in my mind, but I just can't.

Would you like to see?

[laughs] -Have you got a photo of him?

-We've found your dad.

[crying] Hey.

I never thought I would ever, like, hear those words.

[Davina] It's your dad.

[Jade] God.

[crying] I look like him.

The nose and the skin type looks the same as mine.

[crying] I feel speechless.

[laughs] And he looks happy.

He had always said to his friends, "I've got a little girl."

But he didn't know.

But he just had this really strong feeling that he had a little girl.

[exhales] That's really-- that's really nice to know that.

All those years of, like...

The things of the bullying and things like that, like...

The feeling alone that I were like, wasn't alone, really.

See he had thought about us.

Two weeks later, Tony flew to the UK to meet his daughter Jade for the first time at the cricket ground where he'd played.

It was the first time Tony had been back to Seaham Harbour since he left in 1982.

Hi.

[laughs] Nice to meet 'ya.

[laughs] [Tony] No, it's a dream come true.

-Forever.

-[laughs] [crying] Oh.

Thanks for everything, man.

Yeah.

Thanks for coming over.

I was suprised-- I didn't know if you would even want to meet or anything.

Yeah, yeah.

So, I know you've been looking forward to it.

[laughs] Since I was about 6 when I first started asking.

I had the photo of you all the time but I never could ever see.

I didn't know you, and... People would say, like, "You look like you're-- like you're Black," and I'd would be like, "Well, I know that I am, but I never had anyone kind of say, "Oh, well, this is my dad, he's Black.

That's why I look the way that I look."

Well, you know, you've met your dad, and this is your dad, and... And I'm here now in the flesh.

Yeah.

And I'm looking forward to this being a life-long thing as of now.

Yeah, definitely.

-A beautiful lady.

-[laughs] Thank you.

-Beautiful lady.

-[laughs] Since they were reunited, Jade and Tony speak and text regularly, but with Tony living so far away, they haven't seen each other since.

Today, Jade's packing for her first trip to Barbados, where she'll see her dad again after 10 months apart.

I'm just looking forward to spending more time with him and getting more of a feel for what his day-to-day life's kind of like.

But Jade won't just be seeing her father again.

She'll also be meeting her Barbadian grandmother for the first time.

Having lost her English granny six years ago, getting to know her new grandmother is important to Jade.

Me grandmother's name was Brenda, and I was really close with her.

And then when we lost her, it was hard.

So, to find out that I've got a new grandmother is, like, a big thing for us.

And Jade's feeling apprehensive about meeting her new half-brother, Marley.

I'd hope that we're gonna get on and everything's gonna go smoothly, but I wouldn't expect to be the newest member of the family straight away.

I think it takes time on both sides to ease into that.

Jade Hartley and her father, Tony, were reunited in 2015 after 32 years apart.

Today, after a 4,500-mile flight, Jade has arrived in her father's home country of Barbados for the first time, where Tony is waiting to greet his daughter.

She's come into my life now, in the flesh.

I miss her, yeah, I miss her company.

'Cause being in England was the best two weeks of my life, and I loved it.

I can't wait to put my eyes on her again.

[Tony] Here's the angel.

-Hello.

-Hello, hello.

[Jade laughs] My darling, how are you doing?

I'm good, thanks.

Are you alright?

Definite, how was the flight?

Good.

Long.

Let's go and get in the car, alright?

-Okay.

-Alright.

Jade will meet her grandmother and half-brother tomorrow.

But, first, father and daughter want to spend some time catching up.

This cricket match, it is like a practice match before the season starts.

Spending time with Jade is giving Tony the chance to explain the past.

[Tony] You see, these situations occur where you may be in a country, you might be on a job or something, and things happen that, you've gotta go, you know?

[Tony] Yes, you might tell yourself, look back on the years that you said, well, "Sorry I didn't do this, sorry I didn't do that."

If things would have been different or if it were-- me and her mum would have been in a marriage relationship or something, you know...

But at the end of the day, you must survive.

[men yell] I think for Tony, meeting me has kinda eased-- maybe there's a sense of guilt that he had.

I don't think that he needed to feel guilty, but I think he feels a lot better.

No, I know my mum always understood that you had to go.

Yeah.

Like, the same, and she had to stay.

Connecting to her Barbadian roots has made Jade reflect that her childhood could have been different.

[Jade] Meeting Tony now and, like, the kind of person that he is, I wish that he had been around when I was younger.

I feel that I probably would have been... a lot more, maybe, secure with myself and not felt the way that I did growing up, with like, the bullying and stuff.

I'd never really talked to anyone about it, but then when I got to meet Tony and I talked to him, and he was like, you should never be ashamed.

You should hold your head up high, and you shouldn't let what people like that think bother you.

I don't feel like I have to hide, like, my background like that anymore.

Racism makes the individual stronger.

Racism makes the individual conscious about life.

And Jade visiting Barbados will know, and she probably know already, who she really is.

She's a wonderful lady.

She's a strong woman already.

Today, Jade's gonna meet two new relatives that for 33 years she knew nothing about-- her 28-year-old half-brother, Marley, and her 79-year-old grandmother, Patricia.

I've been hearing about her, and I'm so glad that the opportunity has come that I should see her.

I finally have a sister.

All I can do is give her a warm embracement.

[Jade] 'Cause I've heard a lot about them, but I've never even seen them before.

Didn't even take a picture, did I?

-[laughs] -When we came before.

[Tony] Jade, this is it now.

[Jade laughs] [Jade] I feel really nervous.

[Tony] Yeah.

[Jade laughs] Hello.

There you go Jade, this is Marley.

Pleased to meet you.

Hello.

-[laughs] -[Tony] And this is my mum.

Hello.

At last, at last, at last.

-How are you?

-I'm good, are you?

I try to hold on.

I'm so glad to see you.

Oh good, yes.

[laughs] So glad to see you.

I never expected I would see you.

[Patricia] I'm so glad.

I'm so happy.

-Are you okay?

-Hey, sis.

-[laughs] You're bigger than me.

-My big sister.

[laughs] Little sis.

[laughs] And they feel like family straight away, just the same as what I did when I first met Tony, 'cause it's just been relaxed, and they've-- feels like they've welcomed us straight away.

Were you surprised to find that they had a sister?

It was a real surprise.

It means a lot, because, like, I never even knew that I had a sister.

Yeah.

[Patricia] She's definitely Tony's daughter.

She's the spitting image of him.

[Jade] She reminds us so much of being with me nanna, even just spending, like, a little bit of time with her.

Meeting like, my new gran.

So, definitely looking forward to spending more time with them.

And there are even more relatives to meet.

Tony's organized a party for over 30 new uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews, all eager to welcome Jade into the family.

-Hello.

-Lovely to finally meet you.

[laughs] -Good?

-[Jade] Yeah, yeah.

Pleased to meet you.

Likewise, pleased to meet you.

Say, "Auntie Jade, how are you?"

Auntie Jade.

Tony's sister said that isn't even half.

She said there's loads more people, and so it's like I've got a massive new family in Barbados that I never knew anything about.

It means a lot to me.

It means a lot, because I've been wondering what she looks like, what she is, how old, and now I see her, I feel so good.

I love Jade.

That's all I can say.

I love her.

[Patricia] She's mine.

[Tony] It's a dream come true.

I'm very, very happy.

She's enjoying herself, and that she knows when she leaves Barbados, she has a family that knows Jade, believe in Jade, and will always support Jade in any and everything that she does.

Our final story features a reunion which led to a discovery of the most incredible coincidence.

Gillian Carter came to us looking for her son, who had been given up for adoption 48 years earlier.

[Gillian] I desperately want to see him.

To give him a hug.

And to let him know that I'm not a horrible person for giving him away.

I didn't want to.

Gillian lives in Rotherham with Phil, her husband of 44 years.

Her daughter and five grandchildren live close by.

Gillian grew up an only child in Sheffield with her father, George, and mother, Edna.

Our relationship, Mum and I, wasn't wonderful.

She always used to say that she loved me but, you know, it didn't come out in her actions.

Gillian had a closer relationship with her father, but when she was 13 years old, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away a year later.

[Gillian] My dad dying was the most devastating thing.

I think it was after that that things started going wrong.

As she grew increasingly distant from her mother, at 16 and against her mum's wishes, Gillian started a relationship with an older man.

He paid me a lot of attention.

Affection.

And that's what I desperately wanted.

Two years later, Gillian discovered she was pregnant.

My mother was so clear in her mind that there was no chance of me keeping him.

He had to be adopted, end of story.

I just desperately wanted to keep the baby.

Gillian gave birth to a baby boy on the 3rd of June, 1966, who she named Christopher.

He was absolutely beautiful and he was a big boy.

He was lovely.

Ten days later, Christopher was taken away and placed in foster care.

The social worker came in and just took him out of my arms.

[Gillian] Like somebody's wrenched my heart out.

I was giving him away.

[Nicky] We discovered Christopher had been given the name Mark Green and had moved to Adelaide, Australia, eight years ago.

But when our intermediaries wrote to Mark, we heard nothing back.

It was only after further attempts to contact him were made, that he finally agreed to meet.

When you found out that your birth mother was looking for you, what went through your mind?

I have never felt any desire to find who my natural parents were.

And there's a reason for that.

I had a beautiful childhood.

Very, very happy, my parents were wonderful.

Did you ever think, "I wonder who she is?

I wonder what the story is?"

My wife and daughter sort of sat me down and said, "How would you feel if you'd had a child, and that child was no longer with you, for whatever reason?"

And I said, well, it doesn't bear thinking about.

It would be dreadful."

So, she said, "Well, don't you think perhaps this lady's maybe going through that for these past 48 years?"

And the blinkers came off.

So, what happened?

She met a guy, and what happens, happened.

[Mark] Yeah.

With her mother from the outset saying, "You're not gonna keep that baby.

You're gonna put that baby up for adoption."

[Mark] Hmm.

So, Gillian was completely and utterly alone.

Do you have a photo of Gillian?

[Nicky] I do.

Oh, God.

My mum.

I have to meet her.

[Davina] I went to tell Gillian that her son had been found.

So, how long have you been looking for Christopher?

Huh, I could say since he was born, really.

So, I just want to think that one day I could see him.

Well, you can.

I can?

-Yeah, 'cause your son.. -Really?

Your son's been found.

Oh, God.

[crying] Oh, my God.

Oh.

Oh!

-And he wants to see me?

-He does.

Oh.

Oh, I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

Oh, Christopher.

-Is he still called Christopher?

-No.

[laughs] -No?

-No.

-Oh, well, that's fine.

-He's called Mark.

-Mark?

-Yes.

Wow.

He's in Australia.

Really?

Yeah [laughs] He's in-- he's in Adelaide.

God.

There's your son.

[Gillian gasps] Ah, he's so handsome.

Oh, I can't wait.

Just 10 days after finding out that her son had been found on the other side of the world, Gillian was finally going to see him.

They met in Sheffield, the city where Mark was born.

[sentimental music playing] Hello.

Oh, my goodness.

[Gillian] Oh, the most wonderful day of my life.

You're Mum.

-I am.

-You're my mum.

You're my son.

Oh... Oh you're wonderful.

Can I call you Mum, is that alright?

Absolutely.

Oh, you bet!

It's been a long, long time hasn't it?

Since Gillian and her son Mark were reunited nearly two years ago, they've spoken every few days and skype regularly.

But because they live so far apart, since their reunion, they've only managed to see each other once, when Gillian visited Mark in Australia.

[Gillian] It's awful not being able to just go down the road to see him, but I know he's there, and I know he loves me, and I love him.

Soon, Gillian's longing to see her son again will be fulfilled, as Mark and his family are on their way back to the UK.

Mark and Gillian were reunited nearly two years ago, but they've only seen each other once since then.

Today Gillian and her son will be together again.

Mark and his family are flying in from Australia, and Gillian and her husband Phil are waiting to meet them.

I'm just beside myself.

It's just like waiting for Father Christmas to come through that door.

[laughs] Hello, my darling.

Oh, God.

Oh, my darling boy, how are you?

I love you so much.

Oh.

-Hello [laughs] -Hello my darling.

[Mark] She's one of life's people who just needs to be hugged a lot.

We love being together.

I love holding her, and to be able to just hug her while we're here at the moment has just been fantastic.

Back together again, exactly as we should be.

14 months ago isn't?

Exactly it was, darling.

And Skype doesn't really cut it.

Can't believe we're here at last.

I know.

I can't.

[Mark] It's been such a long wait.

[Patricia] I cannot believe it.

[Mark] It's such a long time.

For Mark, the reunion has given him more than just his birth mother.

My wife used to refer to me as a rock, an emotionless person who would protect themselves from any sort of love or emotion or anything like that.

And since meeting Mum, she doesn't call me that anymore.

And I can see it in myself as well, that I'm much more soft and mellow and it's been a-- something that I didn't know I needed to do until it actually happened.

Today, they're visiting the village Mark grew up in with his adoptive parents.

It's not far from where Gillian lives, and they've discovered an extraordinary connection.

Really pretty the gardens.

They are, yes.

I used to sing in a choir, and we used to rehearse at one of the other singer's houses.

And then we used to go up to the Devonshire Arms.

[Mark] The Devonshire Arms was a pub that I used to work in.

I was just a bartender there, and I worked there for probably two or three years.

Oh my goodness, look at this.

-[Mark] It's all different.

-It certainly is.

[Mark] Yeah.

And we worked it out that it was about the same time as I used to be going in after rehearsals.

-This is brilliant, isn't it?

-[Gillian] Yeah.

I'd probably given her a pint, and she'd probably said hello, and all of that, so, it's just an amazing thought.

My son probably served me with a drink, and I didn't know it was him.

Today, Gillian will get the chance to celebrate Mark's birthday with him for the first time since he was born, along with his half-sister, Alison.

[Mark] To be celebrating my birthday with my mum for the first time, it's made all the more poignant in that it's my 50th birthday and, and a milestone event like this, to be with my mum and my sister, is amazing.

Despite not knowing where her son was, Gillian still marked his birthday every single year.

I used to put his birthday wishes in the newspaper and, um, it gave me a little bit of comfort.

The thought that he might see it, um, little did I know that his name had been changed.

So, this year, Oh that is fantastic.

Look at that.

"Happy 50th Birthday!

Mark Green.

"To my precious son.

At last I can wish you a wonderful birthday.

I never believed that all those years ago, when I put your birthday wishes in the Sheffield Star each year, that we would meet.

Today we are together, and it is so beautiful.

I am whole, my world is complete.

I love you so very much.

Thank you, your mum.

To do this for my 50th birthday is wonderful.

Thank you, mum.

You're welcome, my darling.

I love you so much.

Hmm.

It meant so much to me that she used to have that advert in the newspaper, and so to actually see it now is just the icing on the cake.

And to finish off the celebrations, Gillian and Mark's sister Alison have organized a surprise party for him.

I absolutely love Mark to bits.

Every time I see him, he calls me sis, which is amazing, and I just love the fact that I've got an older brother.

Oh wow [laughs] Surprise!

[applause] From the minute that we met, there was a connection there.

[all cheering] -Hellom Mum [laughs] -Hello, my darling.

Having my birth mother in my life has been a life-changing experience and event for all of us.

I'm a very happy man.

Tonight has been the most amazing night I've ever had.

My son, my daughter, my grandchildren.

I've got everything I need.

[peaceful music playing]