Man who was abandoned in a London phone box as a baby finds his father and a big ‘friendly and loving’ family in the US thanks to Long Lost Family
- Chris Mason was reunited with half siblings in the US after appearing on show
- READ MORE: Man accidentally unearths family secret after taking £35 DNA test
A man who was abandoned by his birth mother in a phone box in the 1970s has revealed how Long Lost Family has helped him connect with a family he never knew he had.
Londoner Chris Mason met his father Dominic as well as four siblings after appearing on the latest series of the ITV show, which airs tonight at 9pm.
Speaking to Lorraine, Chris and his daughter Elena opened up about meeting his father, who now lives in Maine, with Chris revealing how ‘welcoming, friendly and loving’ his family have been since their reunion.
Speaking via video link from the US, his half-sister Mary revealed she had tried to find Chris in the 1970s, but had been unsuccessful.
Both talked of how thankful they had been to find each other, with Chris revealing Mary and his other siblings will be coming to visit him in the UK in August.
Londoner Chris Mason, centre, who was abandoned in a phone box as a baby, met his father Dominic as well as four siblings after appearing on the latest series of the ITV show, which airs tonight at 9pm
Chris’s mother Elizabeth, from Ireland, died before he could meet her. He added he does not resent her for her decision
‘They were really open and friendly and loving. If the tables were turned, I just hope we would have been the same. It’s a big thing for them, someone knocking on your front door after 55 years,’ Chris said of his siblings.
Chris revealed he was raised in a loving family with siblings in London after being found in a phone box 50 years ago.
He told Lorraine that he’s always known he was adopted, after his mother explained to him when he was five or six years old that he had been found in the streets.
Chris, himself a father-of-two, said this knowledge had never bothered him, but his daughter Elena was curious to learn more about where he came from, and signed him up for the show.
She added she was also spurred on to sign Chris up because time to find living relatives runs out as they get older.
Chris said he still can’t believe that the show is about his own experience, and said the programme was ‘amazing’.
Unfortunately, his mother, an Irish woman, died before he could meet her. However, Chris found out a large family had been hoping to find him on the other side of the pond.
Thanks to Long Lost Family, Chris was able to meet his father, Dominic, who grew up in Italy but now lives in Maine with his family.
Chris, who appeared on Lorraine with his daughter Elena, said it had been ‘amazing’ to find out he had a large family
Thanks to Long Lost Family, Chris met his father Dominic, left, who grew up in Italy but now lives in Maine
‘There has been a lot of meetings and greetings, it’s been a really great example,’ Chris told Lorraine.
He said it had been ‘wild’ to find he had a large family, revealing he had a half-sister named Marie, two brothers called Jeff and Michael, and another sister called Julie that he met thanks to the show.
He added some of his siblings would come to London soon, and that they were planning a trip to Italy, where their father grew up.
Speaking of his birth mother, Chris said: ‘It’s closed a circle. It was never a real concern, but if I’d have the chance, I’d have loved to have told my birth mother that if she had any problems or worries or guilt over what she had to do, it must have been a horrendous position that she was put in.’
Chris revealed his relatives are planning to come visit him in London this summer and that the family are planning to go to Italy to learn about their roots
He added he did not resent his birth mother Elizabeth for her decision.
‘Back in the 1960s it was a different time. She must have been scared. The only way is to go forward, you can’t judge what people go through,’ he said.
Marie also spoke from the US on the show via a video link and revealed she had always thought her mother had had another child, but didn’t know the full story.
She revealed she went looking for Chris in the 1970s, but was unsuccessful because she was looking in the wrong area of the city.
‘It was amazing. When we finally met, it was a relief that I could finally say “I’ve found him”.
‘Thank god for the show. I wished I’d done the DNA [test] years ago.’
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