A new series of the ITV program Long Lost Family is spotlighting cases of individuals separated from their birth families at birth, using DNA analysis and investigative work to reunite them with relatives. One featured story follows 65-year-old David Stevenson, who was found abandoned as a newborn in North West London in December 1960. The program documents his emotional journey to connect with his birth mother’s side of the family.

David was discovered by a police officer in the corridor of an apartment block shortly after birth. Despite interviews with residents, his birth parents remained unidentified. Raised by the Stevenson family in nearby Edgware, David was aware he was a foundling but had a loving upbringing. In 2009, David and his wife Julie made a national appeal for information, which yielded no results.

Long Lost Family’s team used DNA testing to trace David’s heritage to Dutch and French roots. This breakthrough led to connections with a Dutch family, including a woman named Marianne and two of her relatives who took DNA tests. Their cooperation enabled genealogist Ariel Bruce to identify David’s birth mother as Petra, who had died in 2010.

Host Nicky Campbell traveled to the Netherlands to meet with David’s newly discovered relatives, including his aunt Marianne and cousins Saskia and Bart. None had been aware that Petra, a 20-year-old au pair working in Paris, was pregnant or had given birth in London. The family expressed sorrow that Petra had endured the birth alone, likely due to her strict Catholic upbringing, where an out-of-wedlock pregnancy would have been difficult to accept.

Privacy laws in France prevented the team from identifying David’s father. David said he was saddened to learn that Petra never had children after him. The program’s Dutch visit included an emotional reunion with additional cousins who shared memories and stories about Petra. David described the experience as invaluable in forming a clearer picture of his birth mother’s character.

In another case to be featured in the series, the team seeks the birth mother of Sarah Gray, who was found abandoned as a newborn in a telephone box in Leicester in June 1983. Now 43, Sarah was adopted and raised in a loving home but had few details about her early life. She said her biological mother left her in a busy location, suggesting a hope that she would be found. The team located Sarah’s birth mother, who requested a private, off-camera meeting.

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace is scheduled to air on Monday at 9 p.m. on ITV and ITVX, continuing its mission to reunite individuals with missing family members through a combination of DNA technology and investigative research.