In each episode ITV viewers are taken on a moving journey, from the revealing moment relatives are told their loved one has been traced, to the raw moment of the reunion which, in many cases, would only ever have happened in their wildest dreams. Long Lost Family explores the background and social context of each family’s estrangement and why it occurred.
Many of the people featured in the series were adopted or gave children up for adoption when they were younger. During production of Long Lost Family, producers Wall to Wall worked closely with adoption expert Ariel Bruce, a Registered Independent Social Worker who specialises in tracing people affected by adoption. She also helps to trace people who have lost touch as a result of emigration, divorce or other family separations. The protocol devised and worked to throughout the making of Long Lost Family complied with current adoption legislation and was modelled on the protocols and best practice that leading Ofsted-inspected adoption support agencies work to when searching for, contacting, reuniting and supporting adopted people and birth relatives.
Adoption is personal territory for Nicky Campbell, who was adopted as a child, before searching for and being reunited with his birth mother and father as an adult. Nicky is a patron of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering.
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