'I went on Long Lost Family to find closure for mum - I never expected to find my brother'

Mark, 44, was raised by his mum Diane, who sadly died in 2023. He knew she was forced to give up her first child when she was just 19. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Mark explained his mum was "plagued" by the adoption and he wanted to provide closure by searching for his older brother, Martin. He said: "I was looking back on her life and the the number one thing that really plagued her was her adoption of Martin. So I got in touch with Long Lost Family and honestly never thought I would hear back. Just filling in the application form I kind of felt like I'd done some kind of closure as well for mum."

On learning the ITV team had located his brother, Mark recalled: "That was probably the most surreal thing. I never thought in a million years that I'd ever ever find him. It was kind of bittersweet because I thought really this is mum's story in a way. I know how much it traumatised her, really tortured her throughout her life. So, it's kind of a bittersweet.

"I kind of think 'Ah maybe if only I'd done it earlier,' you know, but on the other hand, it's meant to happen when it's meant to happen. It's just amazing really."

For Martin, a 55-year-old musician, it came as an even bigger shock. He knew he had been adopted but had no idea he had a younger brother.

In fact, he explained he thought it was a wind-up when he received a letter from Long Lost Family.

"The day I received the letter, I started reading it and it began with 'I'm sorry to be writing to you out the blue' and I literally rolled my eyes," Martin shared.

"I thought, 'here we go.' But I carried on reading and I've got absolutely no idea why."

He added: "Initially I was so skeptical that it was some big wind up right up until and including the first day of filming when I met Nicky Campbell because my friend and I actually went to the wrong venue.

"But then when once the penny dropped and I realised, "'Oh, this is actually happening,' I just rolled with it. I went into it eyes wide open, arms wide open, expecting absolutely nothing. I just thought, let's see where this goes and it went somewhere really good."

Martin explained when he first heard about Mark is head "felt like mashed potato" as it was "really difficult to process".

"It was constantly moving between excitement to dread of like, 'oh no, what if I'm not what Mark might expect,'" he added.

Mark shared their first meeting "went way beyond what I could have imagined," saying "Martin being so open really did mean a hell of a lot to me".

Since they met, Mark and Martin have stayed in touch often talking on the phone until the early morning.

"The phone calls we've had have meant so much to me and and have been, you know, just fantastic," Mark said.

"We've sometimes been up in the early hours talking and it's like I've always known Martin. It's like I've always known you."

Martin concurred: "We've talked like some ridiculously long conversations and covered every topic under the sun. I don't think we'll ever be sitting there feeling awkward that there's nothing left to talk about."

Long Lost Family airs tonight on ITV at 9pm.