Niki Weadon was left on the steps of a tower block in 1987 as a baby, she handed over to a police officer - also called Niki and in the latest episode of Long Lost Family the two are reunited as the former strives to discover where she came from.
The pair meet up on the housing estate where Niki Wheadon was abandoned. Although the tower block where she was found has now been demolished, Niki meets with the police officer who was on duty when she was left as a baby. The former police officer says: “I remember being on shift and then, a woman ran up to me and handed me something. I was shocked to discover that it was a baby.” The woman who did hand over baby Niki was not, in fact, her birth mother. Read about the Welshman who appeared on Long Lost Family after he was left wrapped in a paper bag, here.
Niki discovers that the police station, where she was left, was directly opposite the tower block where she was found. This provides her with some comfort. Niki describes how her police officer name-sake “means a lot” to her. Niki, now 33, lives in Essex and is married with two children of her own, at three months old she was adopted as the only child of Graham and Cathy Harvey and told viewers that she had a "happy childhood".
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The foster parents tell their daughter that they wanted there to be “no secrets” between them and it was important for Niki to know from a young age where she came from. They say: “It was [Niki’s birth mother’s loss] and [their] gain.” Desperate for answers, teaching assistant Niki contacts the Long Lost Family team. She tells viewers that she is deeply grateful for the support of Graham and Cathy but says: “I’m scared that everyone I love and care for is going to leave me because the first person who should have stayed, left.”
The episode opens with Niki showing her hospital tag. As the exact date of her birth is unknown, the day that she was born is left blank with a question mark. "Seeing it with a question mark makes me sad that they don’t know when I was born,” said Niki as she described the tag. She adds that, “all she knows is that [her mother] gave birth to [her] and then went.”
Niki’s DNA is uploaded onto an online database by the Long Lost Family team. Host Nicky Campbell chats to the search lead in Niki’s case, who tells him that they have managed to find her full-brother, who is called John. The search lead reveals that, following a chat with John, Niki’s mother and father had both passed away at a very young age. They were both Scottish and her mother was also, half-Nigerian.
The search lead tells him that Niki has three other siblings alongside John, making her one of five children. Much like in Tuesday’s episode ( which you can read about here ), Niki is a middle child and has older and younger siblings.
Niki’s siblings meet host Nicky Campbell in London. Adam, Niki’s younger brother, describes the news as “very unexpected” and was confused as to why she was left. Tanita, Niki’s sister, says that their mother must have been “at her lowest” to abandon a baby. Her mother, who struggled badly with depression, had previously suffered miscarriages. Her father was a schizophrenic. Upon seeing a photo of his sister, John bursts into tears.
Chatting to host Davina McCall, Niki said she has felt “mixed emotions” following the news that her parents had passed away at a young age. She breaks down when she finds out that she has four siblings, all of whom want to meet her. “I just don’t get why I wasn’t kept,” Niki emotionally says as she agrees to meet her brothers and sisters.
The siblings meet at a hotel where they all live. Upon meeting her brothers and sisters for the first time, Niki and her siblings all break down in floods of tears. Tanita simply says: “Welcome to the family, girl,” as they all embrace.
A beaming Niki says that she feels like she has known them all “a long time” and is overwhelmed by the instant connection with her ‘new’ family.
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace airs on ITV at 9pm on Wednesday, May 25. All three episodes from this week will then be available to watch on ITV Hub.
