A woman who was abandoned as a baby, only to be reunited with some of her biological relatives on ITV’s Long Lost Family last year, has now met the policewoman who found her in a new show.
Caroline Harris-Gray was found abandoned at Tottenham’s Prince of Wales Hospital more than 50 years ago after she was left in a vegetable box in the matron’s office.
She had a very happy adoption, but always had questions about her identity and who left her and why.
In an episode of Long Last Family that aired in 2023, Caroline reconnected with her half-siblings Paul and Tina in Brighton, who told her more about their biological father Ray, a firefighter who they said “looked like her.” “.
In a new update to the follow-up show, Long Lost Family, Born Without a Trace: What Happened Next, Caroline meets another important person in her complicated story.
Pictured: Caroline Harris-Gray, who was found abandoned at Tottenham’s Prince of Wales Hospital more than 50 years ago after being abandoned in a vegetable box in the midwife’s office.
Pictured: Jan, the police officer who was called to Tottenham Hospital when Caroline was found.
Davina McCall, host of the ITV show, said in the upcoming episode: “Caroline continued to build bonds with her new family but, surprisingly, when her story came to light last year, someone very important was watching.”
It was Jan, the policeman who had been called to Tottenham Hospital when Caroline was found.
After the show’s production team tracked down Jan, she revealed, “The moment they said Caroline, I pricked up my ears and told my husband, ‘That’s my baby!'”
Jan had kept photographs of Caroline for decades, apparently cherishing a special fondness for the abandoned child she helped more than 50 years ago.
Since the first episode aired last summer, Caroline’s relationship with her new family has gone from strength to strength.
‘I feel a sense of belonging knowing Paul and Tina. I’ve seen them several times since then; I think there’s something about blood relatives,” she said wistfully in the update episode.
‘Paul is a great singer, I do too after a couple of gins and I always wanted a sister. It was an instant connection, I can’t explain it.
“With Gloria (Caroline’s aunt) it was like, I know you, you’re my people.”
Pictured: Gloria (left), Tina (in pink), Paul (third) and Caroline (right) catching up. Caroline said she feels a strong bond with her blood relatives.
Caroline was pictured enjoying a glass of prosecco while meeting her newfound family.
With the help of investigators, Caroline made several discoveries about her past when she first appeared on the show.
Caroline already knew that he abandoned her on July 11, 1968 at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham.
However, she was unsure of the story of her birth, as she had heard conflicting versions.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten different bits of information from different people… I’d like to know the truth,” he told the show.
Visiting the Haringey archives, she learned that her birth mother had left her well dressed, suggesting that she somehow cared about her daughter’s well-being.
She did care! She…she was dressed with love. That’s what I get from it: It’s amazing,” she said.
Caroline put her DNA into an online database, which helped the Long Lost Family team identify her biological father, Ray.
While Ray passed away in 2009, his sister Gloria was still alive and the team discovered that Caroline has two half-siblings, Paul and Tina.
Caroline said she was delighted to hear that her father seemed like an amazing person and to meet the rest of his family.
A photo of Caroline’s biological father, Ray, with her half-siblings Tina and Paul, before their father died in 2009.
Tina and Paul were surprised by the resemblance Caroline had to her father Ray, who was a firefighter.
Viewers were brought to tears last night as Caroline Harris-Gray was reunited with her half-siblings after being abandoned as a baby in July 1968 (pictured hugging her half-sister Tina).
In a sweet moment, Paul greeted Caroline by telling her that she looked a lot like his and Tina’s father.
None of them had any idea that Ray had another child, and a shocked Gloria explained, “We come from a big family…they would have taken in a baby if they had known.”
They revealed that Ray had been going through some personal problems following the death of his father around the time they conceived Caroline.
Gloria believed her niece was the result of an affair Ray had during a free period with his girlfriend, Paul, and Tina’s mother, whom he married.
Since finding her relatives, Caroline has formed a strong connection with her new family members.
“It’s funny, it’s just that blood connection, right? I never thought it was that important because I didn’t have it before, but now I have it, it’s like, yeah, we share DNA.”
Long Lost Family Born Without a Trace: What Happened Next airs Monday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
