Mum helped in search for missing family members after years of ‘heartache’ as she features in ITV television series Long Lost Family

A PORTSMOUTH woman has found a ‘sense of belonging’ as went back to her roots for a television show.
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Kate Brown is set to appear on ITV’s Long Lost Family, a series which features people who are searching for their missing families.

The television show sees host Davina McCall team up with Nicky Campbell and a team of DNA experts and investigators to find people who could no longer be traced - hoping to answer the questions that have ‘haunted entire lives’.

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Kate Brown lives in Portsmouth with her husband Ray and their eight-year-old son Alexander.

Kate Brown

. Picture: ITVKate Brown

. Picture: ITV
Kate Brown . Picture: ITV

She is set to feature on the fifth episode of the eleventh series, airing today .

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When Kate was just five days old, her birth mother left her and she was fostered by the Barter family.

Kate said: ‘You do feel different being fostered, you don’t feel like you’re a real part of the family, you feel like you’re an add on.’

Kate Brown (right) with her found foster brother John (left) as children. 

Picture: ITVKate Brown (right) with her found foster brother John (left) as children. 

Picture: ITV
Kate Brown (right) with her found foster brother John (left) as children. Picture: ITV
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Whilst growing up in the Barter family, Kate grew close to her foster brother John, who was unfortunately sent to a children’s home when the Barters eventually adopted Kate.

Kate said: ‘At school if anyone tried to pick on me he was the one that would be there to stick up for me or whatever.

‘He was the closest thing that I had to a real family.’

Kate spent many years trying to find out what had happened to John but found no luck.

This pushed Kate to turn to her own past and discover her own family history.

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Two years ago, Kate discovered she had a biological sister, Maxine.

The episode will feature Kate on her search for the two people missing from her life.

Kate said: ‘There’s a frustration as to why we weren’t kept in contact. It would have saved so much heartache.

‘I lost my brother and to now find that I’ve lost my sister too.

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‘They both are missing, there’s a hole. I need to find them’.

The episode is set to highlight the importance of knowing your family roots and being close to loved-ones, especially within the past year due to the pandemic.

Kate said she finally felt ‘a sense of belonging’ from the episode.

Long Lost Family will air at 9pm on ITV.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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