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We’ve seen sisters reunited, daughters find fathers, brothers find answers. And this week’s episode was no different. The Secrets In My Family team definitely left it to the end to really tug at our heartstrings.
Here are 52 thoughts I had while watching Episode 5 of The Secrets In My Family. Watch clips from the show and learn more about AncestryDNA here.
1. Episode 5 – the penultimate episode of The Secrets In My Family. How time flies.
2. I wonder if this will be like Game of Thrones where the really crucial storylines happen in the second last episode of the series.
3. Guess we’re about to find out.
4. First up, Ayshah, who is searching for the half-sister she’s never met, called Bernadette. She’s been looking since she was 17 after her father revealed he’d had a daughter with another woman.
5. Roy might not have been the most moral of men back in the day, but kudos to him for wanting to turn things around now and find Bernadette. Now living in Miami, he’s recruited Ayshah to carry on the search from North London.
6. Roy is 87, so Ayshah is up against time to find Bernadette and introduce her to their family.
7. “He’s a good-looking man, isn’t he? And does he know it?” Well, snap, Alex Jones.
8. Fingers crossed for Ayshah and Roy – the clock better not run out on this one before the episode is done.
9. Now onto Chris, who is trying to unlock a family mystery that’s been haunting him his whole life.
10. Chris was the butt of jokes amongst his friends because he didn’t look like his brother, Ashley.
11. But at a staff Christmas party (it’s always the work Christmas party where the truth comes out….) Ashley let slip about an argument between their parents – Chris’s mum had told their dad that Chris wasn’t his.
12. So the brothers took an AncestryDNA test to determine if they had the same father. The results confirmed that they didn’t – they were half-brothers.
13. Hmmm, so something fishy has been going on… and for a long time.
14. Even Chris’s dad didn’t know.
15. Chris’s mum is determined to keep her lips sealed on his father’s identity. That’s a bit rough…
16. Regardless, Chris is determined to find out who his dad is, with or without his mum’s assistance.
17. When we say determined, we mean determined. Chris has approached a solicitor, written to Theresa May, hired a private detective, published a story in the paper, and is offering a reward for anyone who can provide information to help his search.
18. Chris’s daughter is suggesting making a wish on a wish tree… also an excellent idea.
19. In fact, I think I could do with one of these wish trees…
20. Back to Ayshah, where she’s catching up with another half-sister she was able to track down, Sue Kim.
21. Sue Kim has thrown up a clue. Her mother had mutual friends with Bernadette’s mother, and what she gleaned was that Bernadette was working in a lab in Tooting.
22. It’s a smidgen of information, but look, it’s a start. We like smidgens.
23. Back to Chris and the search for his biological dad. Chris is meeting up with AncestryDNA expert, Brad who’s going to chat him through some of the clues his DNA has revealed.
24. Interestingly, it’s the differences between Chris and his brother Ashley’s DNA that is going to help, rather than the similarities.
25. Good ol’ Chris. Keeping his chin up.
26. Genealogist, Naomi has been brought in to help Ayshah with her search for Bernadette.
27. Naomi hasn’t found Bernadette, but she has found a marriage certificate and the birth certificate of Bernadette’s son. This has thrown up a residential address that may or may not be where Bernadette still lives.
28. Hail a cab, Ayshah! Tout suite to Tooting!
29. Apparently not… they’re going to write a nice letter first.
30. Back to Chris, and he’s meeting with Jeanette, a DNA expert based in the US who will hopefully be able to get him a bit further with his search.
31. Through family history research and DNA matches, Jeanette thinks she may have found relatives from Chris’s paternal side, which places his dad in England.
32. But no champagne popping just yet… more research still to be done.
33. Ooh… surprise news for Ayshah! They’ve found Bernadette and she wants to meet Ayshah and her dad.
34. Dad is going to be. so. emosh.
35. Big news for Chris too… Jeanette has found the name of Chris’s dad but tragically, he died in a fire 11 years ago.
36. Feeling a bit sad for Chris as he talks about how he wishes he could have just shaken his dad’s hand.
37. Aw, look at how HAPPY Ayshah’s dad is! Beaming.
38. Finally, some good news for Chris. He has two half-brothers. Let’s hope they’re open to meeting their secret brother.
39. Now we’re meeting Robert, who was left abandoned at just three weeks old in the women’s toilets of a cinema.
40. Mavis found him at just 17 years old. How lovely that they’ve stayed so close!
41. Robert went to an orphanage but was adopted at 7. He’s been trying to find his mum since he was 15.
42. Through the help of DNA expert, Julia, Robert found his mother. But sadly, she had died 50 years ago and taken the secret of why she had abandoned him to her grave.
43. But the good news! Robert found Tommy, a half-brother on his father’s side, which then led to even more siblings. Nine in total! What a happy ending to that story.
44. Back to Chris, and it’s so nice to see how Chris and Ashley’s relationship appears to have gotten stronger since all these secrets have come out.
45. Ooh, reunion house…. Ayshah finally gets to meet Bernadette.
46. Oh my goodness. They are identical!
47. Naw, look at the three sisters together. Hugs.
48. Bahh, I can barely type! Roy’s reaction to seeing Bernadette is adorable!
49. And now he’s meeting his grandson! This is just all so nice. So much laughter and happiness.
50. The genes really do run strong in this family – look how much his grandson looks like Roy!
51. “I feel a huge satisfaction – like I’ve had cheesecake and icecream.” Girl, we feel you.