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Abandoned at birth: 50 years searching for our families

Two newborn babies found in tartan bags six years apart: David in a stranger’s car and Helen in a phone box. Decades of searching for answers would reveal an extraordinary secret.

When he was just a baby, David McBride made headline news in Northern Ireland. He had been discovered in the front seat of a stranger’s car, with no trace of who had left him there or why. David was a foundling. As an adult, he was desperate to find his birth mother and his search would lead him to Helen Ward. She was on a similar quest with a story as astonishing as David’s. Helen had also been abandoned as a baby, found in a phone box by a truck driver. They were born years apart and discovered in different countries but unusual details – like the fact they were both found in tartan bags – connected their stories. Decades of searching for answers would reveal an extraordinary secret.

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy
Producer: Maryam Maruf

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: David McBride and Helen Ward. Credit: Courtesy of Helen Ward)

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Wed 15 Jun 2022 02:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 14 Jun 2022 11:06GMT
  • Tue 14 Jun 2022 17:06GMT
  • Tue 14 Jun 2022 21:06GMT
  • Wed 15 Jun 2022 02:06GMT

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