Avril, 77, was recently reunited with her daughter Eleanor after 60 years on Long Lost Family after being told she’d never find her child
Avril, 77, was recently reunited with her daughter Eleanor after 60 years on Long Lost Family after being told she’d never find her child (Image: ITV)
A Long Lost Family star has made an emotional admission after being told for years that she would never find her daughter.
Avril, now 77, was only 15-years-old when she became pregnant, her mum then shipped her off to a mother and baby home in Carlisle, where she gave birth to a baby girl she called Michelle.
At only eight-weeks-old, Avril gave Michelle up for adoption and she was renamed Eleanor. Avril sought the help of Long Lost Family’s Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, who travelled to Newcastle, to find her daughter, where she was emotionally reunited after 60 years apart on the ITV show.
However, this wasn’t Avril’s, who also has daughter Sharon, first attempt to reconnect with her first child, having previously contacted a rival programme to assist her in finding her long-lost daughter.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Avril admitted that The Trisha Goddard Show rejected her because they believed they would never locate her. She explained: “I was listed on a couple of adoption agencies. I tried The Trisha Goddard Show, and she used to help people find their family.”
The ITV programme, which broadcast on Channel 5 from 2004 to 2012, regularly featured emotional family reunions, deep-rooted family secrets or disputes concerning adopted children.
But after reviewing Avril’s case, Channel 5 bosses conceded that even with the programme’s resources, they wouldn’t be able to trace her daughter, reports the Express.
She recalled: “Basically, I was told that I would never be able to find her because she had been issued a new birth certificate.
“So that led me to believe that there wouldn’t be an original birth certificate, and I was told that by two or three different professional people. But after 30 years, you just think, ‘Well, there’s not much else I can do. Hopefully, she might be able to find me’, but you just don’t know.”
The TV star went on to share that her other daughter, Sharon, proved to be her greatest supporter when she considered approaching another television programme for assistance. She said: “I have another daughter, Sharon, and I told her about Michelle.
“She was the one who said, ‘Yes, you should do it’. So that’s what I did. I wrote to Long Lost Family, and it went from there.”
The mother and daughter were eventually reunited on Eleanor’s birthday, with Avril telling her: “There aren’t any words to tell you, Eleanor. That I’ve always loved you and that you’re still mine. You’re my child.”
It comes as the reunited mother and daughter recently appeared on This Morning, where Avril said of meeting for the first time and if they had an instant bond: “Yeah, she was back in my arms where she belongs.”