Stacey Solomon's Sort Your Life Out: Emotional Dilly Carter receives touching surprise in latest episode
Dilly has a personal connection to tonight's storyStacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out is back with another emotional episode tonight, as the team meet two dads and their young daughter El.
Craig and Craig, known to their friends as Big Craig and Little Craig, are in desperate need of some help.
The couple’s three-bed semi in the Midlands is overflowing with clutter, along with hundreds of toys belonging to their five-year-old daughter.
But there is a very good reason they have been clinging on to it all – and it’s bound to leave Sort Your Life Out viewers feeling misty-eyed.
Sort Your Life Out: The Craigs
Stacey and the Sort Your Life Out team – Dilly Carter, Rob Bent and Iwan Carrington – begin tonight’s episode by rooting around Craig and Craig’s home. They find bottles of gin, chandeliers and piles of clothes.
There are hundreds of women’s tampons (later revealed to be a charity donation that never made it to the drop off) and too many pairs of shoes to count.
The team also discover piles of children’s toys and books, leaving no floor space in little El’s bedroom.
Stacey concludes: “I feel like there’s never been a declutter in there.”
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But it soon becomes clear why they haven’t let go of El’s belongings.
The couple, who met as teenagers, adopted El. She had been taken into care when she was younger and had barely any belongings.
“I always wanted to be a parent from a young age,” Big Craig says. “When El went into care, she didn’t have a lot of stuff.
“El not coming with much, we over compensate. And the wider family overcompensate as well.
“I’m very sentimental and feel I need to hold on to everything. But I do have a reason. All the stuff I hold on to now builds a memory now for El’s future.”
El’s story
Later in the show, Stacey confirms that the Sort Your Life team consulted adoption charities before decluttering Craig, Craig and El’s home. She says El can keep hold of anything she doesn’t want to let go of.
Dilly also tells the couple that she is adopted, saying: “I get that whole process.”
Explaining more about El’s backstory, Big Craig explains: “I could probably pick up in my arms everything she came with. I think that’s why I hold on to her stuff, because it’s her memories and her history.
“When El went into care, she had the clothing that she had on and just a couple of things. It’s stuff we’ve kept for her as she grows. So she has got that tether to where she came from.”
Both Craigs break down, as Big Craig adds: “Because of the past life experience she had, we want to make sure she gets everything she deserves now. I don’t want her to ever feel when she’s older that she missed out on anything.”
Stacey reassures the couple that El already has everything she needs; “love in abundance”.
Sort Your Life Out: A surprise for Dilly
While sorting through their belongings, Craig and Craig show Dilly a big file called ‘All About El’. It is packed with information about her history and adoption, including an explanation on what it means to be adopted.
When Dilly was adopted, she had a similar file given to her. But tragically, Dilly admits she has misplaced hers.
“I lost my own file that I had and, honestly, I kick myself. I keep thinking one day I will open a memory box in my loft and it’s going to be there,” she says. “But I’ve been through those boxes 200 times and I still can’t find it.”
Later, the Craigs have a surprise for Dilly. They have included her in El’s file on the ‘other people who are adopted’ page.
Dilly becomes emotional as she hugs them, saying: “You’re the cutest, you two. I love that, thank you.”
Little Craig tells her: “Your book meant so much to you and now you’re part of ours.”
“I am so beyond touched, I honestly can’t believe it. It’s so, so lovely,” Dilly admits.
How lovely. We’re not crying, you are…
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