A man who ‘can’t remember’ his mother’s face after she left the family when he was five years old has finally been reunited with her decades later.
The eldest of three children, Alan Parker was brought up in Reading. The eldest of three children, he was left devastated when his mother Anne left the family home 51 years ago – and he never saw her again.
Although he was never told exactly why she left, he does recall ‘heated arguments’ between his parents and believes his father was granted sole custody after she left.
Now 56 and working as a car salesman in County Meath in Ireland, Alan has been desperate to see if there was a chance of reconnecting with his mother.
So, he turned to the team at Long Lost Family for help. On the series return tomorrow night, Alan will finally be told more about what happened to his mother all those years ago.
On the episode, Alan shares that he has no recollection of Anne at all.
‘I can’t remember her face or anything. Maybe it was too traumatic for me, my mum leaving was one of those events that you want to block out,’ he said.
But, returning to Reading and to the area where he grew up, Alan explains he ‘wants to know her side of the story’.
Tasked with seeing if they can find out Anne’s whereabouts – and if she is even still alive – the team try and find her through members of her extended family.
They eventually discover that she is now living on the South Coast.
Although hesitant about being tracked down, she agrees to meet Nicky Campbell, who co-hosts the series alongside Davina McCall.
When the pair meet, Anne is both surprised and hugely relieved to be told her son bears her no ill will.
Opening up about her decision to leave her three young children behind, Anne said that she felt trapped in an unhappy marriage and felt it was ‘safer’ for her to leave the family home.
While she initially stayed in a bedsit and eventually planned to have the children with her, within a year her husband had moved them all – and she had no idea where.
‘I’ve often thought back to what I’ve missed out over the years with their lives, there’s always a part of me that’s been missing. You have no idea, no way of finding out,’ she says.
In an exclusive clip ahead of the episode airing, Davina tells an emotional Alan that his mother has been found – and she wants to meet him.
‘What do you want to know from your mum?’ she queries.
‘I want to know what she’s been doing for the last 51 years really and I want to know if she’s happy…but I don’t even know if my mum is still alive,’ he shares.
Davina then tells Alan she’s got an update on the search – that his mum has been found.
Immediately breaking down into tears, Alan becomes emotional realising he is soon about to be reunited with his mother after such a long time.
The episode sees them meet near Anne’s home for what the mother and son hope will be a healing reunion.
‘I feel lighter, like there’s no weight on my shoulders or anything,’ Alan says afterwards.
Long Lost Family returns tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1.
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