Long Lost Family viewer comes forward with information about missing brother in show first

16 September 2021, 17:45

By Heart

@thisisheart

Earlier this week, it was revealed that viewer of Long Lost Family contacted the show with information about a missing brother.

It was revealed this week that Long Lost Family had a show first after a viewer got in contact with information about the missing brother of two contestants.

The show's spin-off, Without Trace: What Happened Next aired, which revisits some of the people who have appeared on Long Lost Family over the years, aired on Tuesday night.

It looked at the story of David McBride and Helen Ward, who both appeared on Long Lost Family in 2019 and discovered that they were long lost siblings.

The first episode saw David reveal that he was left on the front seat of a car in Belfast almost 60 years ago, wrapped in a blue and white shawl.

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Helen had been found in a telephone box on the other side of the Irish border in March 1968.

David sent his DNA to an online database, and the Long Lost Family team subsequently confirmed they were siblings.

After the pair met, the team learnt more about their parents, who had both passed away.

It was revealed that their mum had had an affair with their father, who 17 years her senior and married with 14 children.

In the spin-off show earlier this week, it was revealed that a woman in Australia called Donna had watched the original show, and had reached out to the team about her own father, named John.

She had noticed that David and Helen bore a striking resemblance to John, and that he had also been found in a telephone box in Ireland in the 1960s.

A DNA test proved that David was also their sibling, which was a show first.

Expert Ariel Bruce said: "It is an absolute first."

The three siblings then met, with Helen telling John: "I’m so grateful, I’m so, so grateful that both yourself and David are in my life now, absolutely so grateful."

John then said: "The DNA test was the best thing I ever did. Today has come and I know exactly who I am. And I have family - another family - and it’s great to know your roots."