Long Lost Family is back with series 15, and the first episode tells the heartbreaking story of a boy snatched from his mother’s arms as a baby.

Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell return to present this “deeply moving” documentary series which aims to reunite family members after years of separation.

As the new series begins, episode 1 celebrates the bond between brothers. It follows the stories of two different men, both of whom are looking for the siblings they were separated from as children.

In the first case, Lee Sharp’s adoptive parents had told him that he was a foundling, but the team discovers this isn’t true… He has a sibling.

Meanwhile, Peter MacDonald was tragically snatched from his mother’s arms as a baby. Here’s a look inside the first of seven episodes, which airs on Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 9pm.

Long Lost Family series 15: Lee Sharp had no idea he had a brother

The first episode of Long Lost Family S15 introduces fifty-six-year-old “mod” Lee Sharp. He lives in Eastbourne with his wife and runs a retro clothing store. Growing up, his parents told him that he was a foundling, left by a young Irish girl in a block of flats in London. But he discovers that wasn’t true at all.

Although foundlings are usually left with no identifying paperwork, Long Lost Family’s lead social worker Ariel Bruce soon discovers that Lee in fact had a conventional adoption. For the first time ever, he can see his original birth certificate, which lists his birth mother as a married woman living in London.

Lee subsequently travels to a flat in the Paddington area of West London, where he spent the first few days of his life.

He says: “Absolutely mind blown. Now I know where I lived. My birth mother, I hope she’s alive. Any siblings, any answers, anything would be great.”

The Long Lost Family team begins to search for Lee’s birth mother but can’t trace her. However, they do discover that she had an older son called Stephen… He now lives in Inverness, Scotland.

‘Can we get a WhatsApp group called Bruvs?’

Nicky Campbell then travels to Scotland to meet an “emotional” Stephen – who had no idea he had a younger brother, but is “thrilled” by the news. We discover that Stephen didn’t actually grow up with his parents. Instead his paternal grandparents raised him. He recalls a rather upsetting story his grandmother told him.

He said: “My dad came back from work and had found me crying in the cot. There was a note from my mum saying ‘it’s him or me’. It was decided to approach my grandparents to see if they would look after me. They were then given guardianship of me. I felt unwanted.”

Stephen knew both his parents, but describes them as very much being in the background of his life. His father died over 30 years ago and he has not been in contact with his mum for 32 years.

Hearing the news he has an older brother, Lee says: “I thought I was dropped from space. I just thought there was no one like me in the world… But there is, apparently.”

There are huge smiles – and tears – when they finally meet in Eastbourne after more than 50 years apart, and agree to get a WhatsApp group called Bruvs.

Long Lost Family’s Peter was ‘snatched him from his mother’s arms as a baby’

Meanwhile, 58-year-old painter and decorator Peter MacDonald is looking for his older brother Trevor. As a baby, his father snatched him from his mother’s arms through a window – just as a train carrying her and his older brother pulled out of Preston station.

Peter was two and a half months old when the “traumatic” event took place, “tearing” him away from his family. However, his father didn’t raise him. Instead, Peter ended up in care within months.

It was only when he was older that Peter learned the mysterious story around his early years. When he was a baby, his mother left his father. She went to the train station with him and his older brother in a bid to get away.

However, as the train was about to depart, his father unexpectedly turned up on the platform. He reached inside the train carriage and snatched baby Peter from his mother’s arms.

The train pulled away and Peter never saw his mother and brother Trevor again. Until now. Speaking from his home in Lancashire, he says: “If he hadn’t of snatched me, then everything would have been the way I wanted it to be – with Trevor.

“I’ve always wanted to find my brother. It would just make me complete. He’s been on my mind for over 50 years, for as long as I can remember.”

That day at the railway station changed the course of Peter’s life, separating him from the brother he feels he should have grown up with.

‘Two brothers together and last’

When Long Lost Family took on the case, they discovered that Trevor’s middle name is Edward. So, to track him down, they wrote to every Trevor with the middle initial E of the right age. Eventually, one man replies, confirming that he grew up knowing about a younger brother called Peter.

Nicky subsequently meets carpenter Trevor in London – where Trevor and his mother fled to all those years ago. Tragically, their mother died in 2008.  Trevor says: “When she got very ill, she started to talk a lot more, open up a lot more. She said ‘find Peter, look for him’.”

Meanwhile in Lancashire, Davina is able to show widower Peter some photos of his mother. He is shocked at how much his daughters look like her – but not as shocked as when Davina reveals that Long Lost Family has located his brother. An emotional Peter breaks down in tears at the prospect of meeting his brother.

In a poignant moment, father-of-two Peter and older brother Trevor meet in London on their late mother’s birthday. For the first time in 50 years, the brothers meet and share a tearful reunion. Peter shares: “Two brothers together and last. There is an automatic connection.”

Crying? Us! Just a bit.

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Long Lost Family series 15 begins on Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 9pm on ITV.