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An adopted man who never got the chance to meet his late mother has broken down in tears when seeing a photo of her for the first time.

In 1968, 17-year-old Margaret was forced to give up her second child Dean after falling pregnant while unmarried.

A few years earlier she had given birth to daughter Sharon, who she had been raising with the assistance of her parents.

However, when faced with having to raise two children as a single mother, Margaret had to make the heartbreaking choice to give up her son for adoption.

Not long after the teenager was diagnosed with cancer, eventually dying of leukaemia when she was just 20 years old.

Her daughter went on to be raised by her grandparents, but it was only after Sharon’s grandmother died did her grandfather reveal that she had a brother.

A man cries on Long Lost Family
He cried when seeing a photo of his late mother for the first time (Picture: ITV)
Long Lost Family
He had been living just 20 miles away from his sister – and had no idea (Picture: ITV)

For years after Margaret’s death, the family had chosen to keep the existence of Sharon’s younger sibling a secret from her.

After doing her best to track down her brother, Coven-based Sharon then turned to the TV series Long Lost Family, who managed to find Dean, who had been living just 20 miles away from his sister in Sutton Coldfield.

Their reunion was captured by the cameras in tonight’s episode of the ITV series.

Speaking about the jaw-dropping revelation years ago, Sharon said: ‘It was a massive shock and as soon as I found out I had the overwhelming feeling I needed to find him.’

Long Lost Family
There was a very emotional reunion between the siblings on the programme (Picture: ITV)
Long Lost Family
Sharon uncovered truths about her family from being on the show (Picture: ITV)

The researchers eventually found Dean, whose name had since been changed to Craig.

Being approached by the show was shocking for Craig too, as he had no idea he had a sister.

As a teenager Craig had gone looking for his birth mother, but after finding her death certificate and failing to track down more information about her, had to give up.

‘It was very upsetting that I never had the chance to meet her,’ he said.

A black and white photograph of a woman from ITV programme Long Lost Family
Sharon and Dean’s mother, Margaret, died just months after deciding to give up her son for adoption (Picture: Wall To Wall/ITV)

After being desperate to meet, the siblings were finally reunited decades after being separated.

In emotional scenes, they met up and spoke about how they wanted to ‘build on this bond that we’ve found’ to make up for ‘all the time that’s been wasted’.

‘Nothing is going to separate us now,’ Craig said.

Meanwhile his older sister said: ‘I’m sure mum would be looking down and would be really pleased we’ve found each other.’

An old photograph of an adult man, an adult woman and a child
Sharon as child with her grandparents, Annie and William (Picture: Wall To Wall/ITV)

Unsurprisingly many of those tuning in were left emotional by the touching reunions.

‘Long Lost Family gets me every time… pass me the tissues. What an amazing show,’ Nathan posted on X.

‘So so moving…beautiful…hoping they all find their inner peace now they’re united,’ Rebecca wrote.

‘Oh my .. Sharon and Craig are meeting not far from where their young mother lived #longlostfamily now I’m truly in bits,’ Tracy added.

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Long Lost Family airs Mondays at 9pm on ITV1.

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