Davina McCall has admitted to being left in tears she watched an episode of Long Lost Family on Monday, as the show made an unexpected return to expose some shocking truths about a scheme that ripped families apart for decades.
The ITV programme can always be relied on to pull on the heartstrings, particularly its Born Without A Trace episodes last year, but given that a new series has still to be confirmed, viewers were surprised to see it back on the TV schedule this week. However, those who tuned into Monday's special won't forget it in a hurry, as the subject matter gave Davina and co-star Nicky Campbell, one of their most emotionally charged cases to date.
The Long Lost Family special focused on a child migrant scheme which saw British youngsters sent to Australia, with candid interviews from the now adults who had no idea why they were dispatched to the other side of the world and the siblings who were left behind. Between 1946 and 1970, round 7,000 children, mostly aged between seven and 10, were taken from orphanages in the UK and sent to Australia, where they were adopted or brought up in institutions, but rather than experiencing a better life, many experiencing neglect and abuse.
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Davina took to Twitter hours before to tease one of the heart-wrenching stories from the episode involving a man named Bruce. Tweeting a picture of Bruce, Davina wrote: "On @longlostfamily tonight at 9pm @itv. Bruce, as a young teen was in the care system, with his younger brothers. He resisted offers of a better life in Australia, but his younger brothers couldn’t. He waved them off at the train station, with promises 2write, and then heard nothing."
In the show, Bruce gave an insight into how he was left feeling after being separated from his siblings Rex and Kevin in the most unexpected and drastic set of circumstances back in 1970, saying: "I wrote and wrote and got nothing back. I assumed they were going to have a good life. Your brothers are gone, you’re on your own."
Siting down with Davina, who broke the news that Rex died last year, Bruce explained that Rex, spent years and years digging for information to in the hope of finding him, before revealing the heart breaking truth he later found out that the brothers' letters to each other were being stopped before they could reach them, with Bruce being left to think that Rex 'couldn't be bothered.' and was too busy enjoying his new life.
Bruce told Davina, that he was also speaking to his other brother, Kevin, saying: "They destroyed the family, they broke the family, split us up 24,000 miles apart," before adding that he believed Rex would still be alive if it wasn't for the scheme.
The episode also featured Dorian, a man who was sent to Australia, with him final being reunited with family nearly 70 years on, after meeting his niece. And the episode proved too much for Davina as she tweeted: "Ok crying now."
She wasn't the only one to get emotional by the content on Monday's Long Lost Family, with one fan telling her: "I normally have to get the box of tissues out when watching @longlostfamily tonight though, I think I’ll need a roll. If you’ve not seen it, it’s a must. It touches on some shocking and awful historic events!" A second reacted: "Just so heartbreaking. hugging my 10 year old boy even tighter then usual."
