A woman who was forced to give up her baby for adoption after becoming pregnant at just 16 was finally reunited with her daughter 60 years later in Long Lost Family.
The new series of the popular ITV show begins on Monday at 9pm and follows the story of Roslynne (Ros) Webb, 76, who lives in Cornwall but grew up in Coventry.
She was 16 when she became pregnant and her strict parents were so embarrassed that they decided to give the baby up for adoption.
To hide her pregnancy, teenager Ros was sent 100 miles away to London to stay at a mother and baby home run by the Church of England until her baby was born.
Ros, who later married but was unable to have more children, was forced to give up her only son and it was only six decades later that the couple were finally reunited in an emotional episode airing Monday.
The new series of the popular ITV show starts on Monday at 9pm and follows the story of Roslynne (Ros) Webb, 76 (pictured left, after being reunited with her daughter, Lyndsey), who lives in Cornwall but grew up in Coventry.
Ros grew up in Coventry with her parents and older sister, and recalls: “Mum was very strict. She was very worried about what other people thought.
‘When we were teenagers in the sixties, obviously everything was on the move. It was a very capricious lifestyle and I was always out of the house.
“I got pregnant. When my parents found out about the pregnancy, my mother decided from that moment what was going to happen. It was a shame, no one should know, no one will know.”
Ros was sent to a mother and baby home run by the Church of England in London, but was thrilled when her daughter, Christine, was born in March 1965.
The mother, who spent six weeks with her daughter, recalled: “She was beautiful. She was white and had a sweet face. It was the best thing that could have happened to her daughter. The best thing that had ever happened to me.”
But soon came the painful day when Ros had to give up her daughter. She revealed:(The) Sister came to me and said, “Now you can go get the baby and bring it back.”
“I went to daycare, picked her up, and told her I loved her and that someone would take care of her.”
Ros returned home and later married her husband of nearly 50 years, Tony, but was unable to have more children.
Ros (pictured as a teenager) was 16 when she became pregnant and her strict parents were so embarrassed they decided the baby would be given up for adoption.
To hide her pregnancy, teenager Ros (pictured right, recently) was sent 100 miles from London to stay in a mother and baby home run by the Church of England until her baby was born. Pictured left, Lyndsey
Ros Webb’s parents with Ros in the centre and her sister (on the right)
She said: “Throughout my life, I never talked too much about Christine because it is so painful. I couldn’t have more children.”
Specialist intermediaries at Long Lost Family discovered that Christine was happily adopted by a vicar and his wife in Kent and is now called Lyndsey.
However, Lyndsey’s family seemed to move around a lot and it was not easy to track her down. It was only when they discovered she had gotten married that they found out her full name and were able to contact her.
When co-presenter Nicky Campbell met Lyndsey, he discovered that she had been trying to trace her birth mother, but thought her birth mother was a mother of three living in the Cotswolds.
Nicky revealed that this was not the right woman as Ros never had any more children, leaving Lyndsey shocked to discover that she is her biological mother’s only daughter.
Presenter Davina McCall (pictured left) revealed to a tearful and emotional Ros that the Long Lost Family had found her daughter.
When co-presenter Nicky Campbell (pictured left) met Lyndsey, he discovered that she had been trying to trace her birth mother, but thought her birth mother was a mother of three living in the Cotswolds.
Looking ahead to what it will be like to meet her birth mother, Lyndsey said: “It will be one of the most important things in my life.”
Asked how she felt, she added: “Nervous. Excited. Very excited. I never thought this day would come. I always hoped it could happen, but I lost hope.”
Presenter Davina McCall then revealed to a tearful and emotional Ros that the Long Lost Family had found her daughter.
“I was afraid that my search would be fruitless, useless, rejected, but knowing that she also tried to find me is wonderful. It makes me feel very good,” Ros said.
Mother and daughter can’t believe their similarities as they discuss them during their emotional reunion.
“I’m filled with joy and happiness. I want to stand on that step and shout to everyone. I’ve met her, I’ve met my daughter,” Ros said.
The mother gave her biological daughter Lyndsey a bracelet as a gift, with Lyndsey revealing: “It’s like my christening bracelet that I lost!”
The new series of Long Lost Family starts on Monday at 9pm on ITV
