In a poignant turn of events on ITV's Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace, foundling David Stevenson received the difficult news that his birth mother had passed away, but later found solace in meeting his Dutch relatives.
Discovery of Birth Mother
The episode, aired on Monday (August 3), followed David and fellow foundling Sarah Gray as they sought answers about their origins. David, discovered in a locked apartment block in North-West London in December 1960, had long wondered about the circumstances of his abandonment.
Search lead Ariel Bruce and her team made a breakthrough, linking David to a Dutch family. DNA tests with two family members, including Marianne, identified his mother, Petra, who had died in 2010.
Emotional Revelation
Presenter Davina McCall shared the news with David away from the cameras. She noted that David's DNA indicated French and Dutch ancestry, but French privacy laws limited further DNA testing, leaving his French father unknown.
Davina told David: "I know you got some difficult news last night. How have you been?" David replied: "It's a shame because it closed an avenue that might have been open to me. I hope today to answer some questions that have been present my entire life."
Meeting Family
Learning that Petra had no other children, David expressed surprise and sadness. He later broke down in tears upon receiving a photograph of his mother and a letter from his cousin Bart.
David traveled to Rotterdam to meet his aunt Marianne and cousins Bart, Saskia, and Jan. The update at the episode's end revealed that David remains in regular contact with his Dutch family.
