Long Lost Family viewers have been left 'sobbing' after a grandmother was reunited with the son she was forced to give up when she was just 16.
Diane Kerridge, 74, who lives in Dorset but grew up in Norwich, met her teenage boyfriend at a youth club dance when they were both aged 14. Two years later, she discovered she was pregnant.
She was given no choice by her mother but to put her baby, who she called Paul, up for adoption. She spent several days with him in hospital after giving birth before a social worker came and took him away, despite Diane's pleas to leave him with her.
In heart-wrenching scenes on last night's ITV programme, a visibly emotional Diane was reunited with Paul 58 years after being forced apart, with the mother telling her son that she 'never forgot him'.
Paul had been found by the Long Lost Family team living in LA as a successful specialist audio engineer to the stars.
Long Lost Family viewers have been left 'sobbing' after a grandmother was reunited with the son (pictured together) she was forced to give up when she was just 16
Viewers were left 'sobbing' by the reunion, with one writing: 'I wonder if there will ever be an episode of #longlostfamily that doesn’t leave me a snotty mess.'
Another added: 'So happy for Diane and Paul. What a lovely, softly spoken lady. I hope they have many happy years making special memories. Such a sad story but a wonderful outcome.'
'Sobbing at #longlostfamily. Gets me every time. So many secrets,' a third viewer added on Twitter.
Recalling the moment she discovered she was pregnant, Diane said: 'There was a stigma attached to being an unmarried mother at that time. It wasn't my choice that he was adopted. I wanted to keep my baby.
'I spoke to my parents, and my mother was very angry. [My boyfriend's] parents were very supportive.
'My father was but my mother made all the decisions and decided I would have the baby adopted when it was born, and there was no question about that.'
She continued: 'I had quite a few days with him. I couldn't stop looking at him. He was such a beautiful baby. I named my baby Paul.
'On the last day, a social worker came, I knew she was coming to take him, and I asked her, "Please don't take him", but she did.
Diane Kerridge (pictured reuniting with her son), 74, who lives in Dorset but grew up in Norwich, met her teenage boyfriend at a youth club dance when they were both aged 14. Two years later, she discovered she was pregnant
Reaction: Viewers were left 'sobbing' by the reunion, with one writing: 'I wonder if there will ever be an episode of #longlostfamily that doesn’t leave me a snotty mess.'
‘I was just so traumatised at losing him. My feelings are just the same as the day when I gave birth to him, and I would like him to know that.’
Diane later married and had two more children. But she kept Paul's birth a secret until her daughter was in her 20s.
'My mother was obviously very ashamed of me and didn't want anybody to know about it. Nobody did know, it was very hard,' she told her daughter in the programme.
The Long Lost Family team discovered Paul was adopted by a couple who lived in Twickenham, in southwest London.
But finding no trace of Paul in the UK, they were eventually able to find him living in America.
Paul moved to the Los Angeles in the 1990s and forged a career as a specialist audio engineer, working with some major international music stars, including Madonna and Stevie Wonder.
Diane (pictured with Paul) was given no choice by her mother but to put her baby, who she called Paul, up for adoption. She spent several days with him in hospital after giving birth before a social worker came and took him away, despite Diane's pleas to leave him with her
Diane (pictured left in her early 20s, and right, recently) later married and had two more children. But she kept Paul's birth a secret until her daughter was in her 20s
Diane broke down in tears after discovering her grown-up son had been traced by the Long Lost Family team in last night's episode (pictured)
Presenter Nicky Campbell visited Paul at his house in the hills behind the Hollywood sign, with Diane's son revealing how he had initiated a search for his mother in 2010.
The agency that undertook the research reached the wrong conclusion, with Paul revealing: ‘The end result was receiving an obituary. So, I’ve actually thought she’s been dead for all this time.’
Paul was delighted to hear that Diane is in fact alive and well – as was Diane when co-presenter Davina McCall let her know that Paul had been found.
‘I’m most looking forward to telling him I have never forgotten him, and I’ve always loved him,' said an emotional Diane.
When they were finally reunited, they both explained how they thought of one another on Paul’s birthday and, for Diane, the sadness she felt.
In emotional scenes, the pair were reunited (pictured together, alongside Diane's granddaughter, left, and daughter, right) 58 years after being forced apart, with Diane telling Paul that she 'never forgot him'.
Diane (pictured with her daughter and co-host Davina McCall, centre) was given no choice by her mother but to put her baby, who she called Paul, up for adoption
Paul (pictured) was delighted to hear that Diane is in fact alive and well – as was Diane when co-presenter Davina McCall let her know that Paul had been found
‘As of today, we need never have those feelings again,' said Paul, who added: 'I definitely felt a connection. It's an amazing feeling of all this time not knowing something and then it's sitting right in front of you.'
'I feel now that I have a family, it's something that was missing,' he added, while Diane said: 'I just can't get my head around it.
'It's just incredible,' she told Paul, saying: 'I was always worried that you might think that I wanted to give you away, so I wanted to reassure that wasn't what happened, and that I hadn't forgotten you.'
'I never held any resentment at all,' said Paul, to which his birth mother replied: 'I'm so pleased to hear that. That's great.'
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