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Long Lost Family (British TV series)

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Long Lost Family
GenreDocumentary
Based onSpoorloos
by KRO-NCRV
Presented byDavina McCall
Nicky Campbell
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series14 (Regular)
8 (What Happened Next)
6 (Born Without Trace)
1 (Switched at Birth)
1 (Shipped to Australia)
No. of episodes91 (Regular)
25 (What Happened Next)
15 (Born Without Trace)
1 (Switched at Birth)
1 (Shipped to Australia)
Production
ProducersJuliet Singer
Thea Hickson
Running time60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyWall to Wall
Original release
NetworkITV
Release21 April 2011 (2011-04-21) –
present

Long Lost Family is a British television series that has aired on ITV since 21 April 2011. The programme, which is presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, aims to reunite close relatives after years of separation. It is made by the production company Wall to Wall.[1] Long Lost Family is based on the Dutch series Spoorloos (English: Without a Trace),[2] airing on NPO 1 since 2 February 1990 and made by KRO-NCRV.[3]

Synopsis

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Presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, the series offers a last chance for people who are desperate to find long lost relatives. The series helps a handful of people, some of whom have been searching in vain for many years, find the family members they are desperately seeking. It explores the background and context of each family's estrangement and tracks the detective work and often complex and emotional process of finding each lost relative before they are reunited. With the help and support of Davina and Nicky, each relative is guided and supported through the process of tracing the member of their family they have been desperately seeking, in some cases for most of their lives. Long Lost Family reveals the background to each case, the social context of each case, and reasons why these estrangements occurred, from the single teenage mums who felt unable to keep their babies to the fathers who left and the twin sisters who were separated at birth.

Transmissions

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Regular series

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Series Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 6 21 April 2011 26 May 2011
2 7 12 April 2012 31 May 2012
3 8 17 June 2013 12 August 2013
4 8 14 July 2014 1 September 2014
5 6 3 June 2015 8 July 2015
6 7 13 July 2016 24 August 2016
7 7 26 July 2017 6 September 2017
8 7 17 July 2018 28 August 2018
9 7 10 June 2019 19 August 2019
The Unknown Soldiers 1 21 October 2019
10 5 18 January 2021 15 February 2021
11 9 5 July 2021 31 August 2021
12 7 13 June 2022 25 July 2022
13 6 3 July 2023 7 August 2023
14 6 8 July 2024 25 August 2024

What Happened Next

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A revisited series called Long Lost Family: What Happened Next has aired on ITV since 2014.

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 9 September 2014 14 October 2014 3
2 9 May 2017 23 May 2017 3
3 11 June 2018 2 July 2018 3
Christmas Reunion 17 December 2018 1
4 29 July 2019 12 August 2019 3
Twin Special 28 October 2019 1
5 6 July 2020 20 July 2020 3
6 15 April 2021 27 May 2021 2
7 8 August 2022 22 August 2022 3
8 4 April 2023 20 April 2023 3

Born Without Trace

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Series Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
Special 1 25 February 2019
1
2 2 1 June 2020 2 June 2020
3 3 24 May 2021 26 May 2021
4 3 23 May 2022 25 May 2022
5 3 26 June 2023 28 June 2023
6 3 10 June 2024 12 June 2024

[4]

Awards and nominations

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Year Group Award Result
2014 BAFTA Awards "Features Programme" Won
2015 National Television Awards "Factual Programme" Nominated
2021 BAFTA Awards "Features Programme" Won

Reception

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Michael Deacon of The Daily Telegraph gave the show a mixed review, stating "the presenters seemed to be trying slightly too hard to squeeze tears out of their interviewees". Deacon also commented, "I wonder what the producers would do if the two people they brought together, instead of embracing joyfully, launched into a furious rally of accusations and blame. Perhaps I'll tune in next week to see whether it happens, although that will depend on whether I can stomach more of Pavlov’s Piano, or for that matter Davina McCall's habit of talking to her interviewees, even the elderly ones, as if she were their proud mother, waving them off at the school gate".[5]

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave a more positive review, commenting "Within its own parameters, it succeeds quite nicely. Davina's common touch remains infallible and her co-host Nicky Campbell's almost pathological lack of charisma is obscured and alleviated by his status as an adopted son himself, [which] makes the whole thing slightly less painful than it might have been". Mangan summed up the show as a "lovely documentary".[6]

Alice-Azania Jarvis of The Independent gave a show a mixed to positive review, saying: "It was all very warm and fuzzy and just what you'd expect, apart from the presenters, who struck me as an odd duo. His connection is obvious – adopted at four days old – hers rather less so. Still, she's really rather good: none of the overgrown-yoof presenting she favours on Big Brother, much more concerned (grown-up) friend. I can't imagine this continuing for more than a couple of series – it's all a little one-trick: once you've got the hang of the tracking-down-strangers part, there's only so much to be astonished about. But, for the meantime, it ain't bad".[7]

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian praised Long Lost Family, calling it "very good" and "so much more interesting than Who Do You Think You Are?".[8] He added, "It's so moving because it's real, and it's about separation and hurt, guilt and regret, growing up, identity, belonging, family, love, life. Now I'm blubbing, like a baby."[8]

International versions

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On 1 March 2016, a US version of the same name premiered on TLC, starring Christopher Jacobs and Lisa Joyner. This version, sponsored by TLC and Ancestry.com, was produced by Shed Media which also produces the US version of Who Do You Think You Are. The series garnered some criticism in its handling of situations where the missing relative has passed away. In the UK and other versions, the family are told away from the cameras out of respect. In the US show, the family are told on camera and their reactions are filmed. Many viewers who took to social media described this as crass and disrespectful.

There is also a Norwegian version of Long Lost Family called Sporløs, which has been airing on Norwegian Channel TV 2 since 2010, with six seasons so far.

The Finnish version called Kadonneen jäljillä has been airing since 2009, with seven seasons so far.

The Australian version of Long Lost Family, hosted by Chrissie Swan and Anh Do, was screened on the Ten Network in 2016.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Davina McCall, Nicky Campbell for 'Long Lost Family' series two – TV News". Digital Spy. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Long Lost Family and Who Do You Think You Are? Returning to Screens Next Year". Warner Bros. Television Production UK. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Spoorloos blikt terug in 600ste aflevering" (in Dutch). RTLBoulevard.nl. 13 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace". 25 February 2019.
  5. ^ Deacon, Michael (20 April 2011). "Long Lost Family, ITV1, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  6. ^ Mangan, Lucy (21 April 2011). "TV review: Long Lost Family; Secrets of the Arabian Nights; and Wishful Drinking". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  7. ^ Jarvis, Alice-Azania (22 April 2011). "Last Night's TV: Long Lost Family/ITV1 [and] Secrets of the Arabian Nights/BBC4". The Independent. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  8. ^ a b Wollaston, Sam (12 April 2012). "TV review: Derek; Long Lost Family". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  9. ^ "TEN Upfronts 2016: Survivor, Jessica Marais, Anh do -and Nigella!". 19 November 2015.
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