After nearly 45 years, Paula finally finds the son she was forced to give up as a teenager because she lived in a home that wasn’t safe…

Choked with emotion and unable to speak, this is the heartrending moment when a mother is told the son she gave up nearly 45 years ago has finally been found. In powerful scenes to be screened on ITV ’s Long Lost Family tonight, 64-year-old Paula is told by Davina McCall : “I’ve got a bit of news for you, your son has been found.” Teaching assistant Paula is at first speechless as she gently shakes her head, before finally saying: “I don’t believe that… I just don’t quite… is it real?”

Not only that, Paula discovers that the couple who adopted her baby stayed true to their word, having promised to name him Paul, in honour of his birth mother.

Paula grew up in Liverpool and had a difficult childhood. Her parents were hard working but also heavy drinkers. She says: “In every single way, we were neglected. Rats in the kitchen, dirty dishes and clothes everywhere. There was verbal abuse, physical abuse. You’re supposed to be safe at home. And unfortunately, it was a place where we were frightened.”

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Together at last: Paula finally finds her long lost son Paul(Image: ITV)

At 19, Paula found some respite when she got a summer job as a barmaid at a local holiday camp, where she met a boy. But when she fell pregnant, her boyfriend disappeared.

Paula was frightened of bringing her child home to her chaotic and volatile family life. She decided early on that she should place her child for adoption, but it was not an easy decision. In 1980, she gave birth to a boy that she called Lee.

She tearfully recalls: “He was tiny and his hair was silver-blonde and he stayed with me for two days. He was wrapped up at the side of my bed. I was just looking at him thinking ‘I’m so sorry but you can’t stay with me.’”

Lee was placed into care after just two days. Paula was heartbroken. A few weeks later, her social worker called unexpectedly. A couple were very keen to adopt Lee, and she wondered if Paula would like to meet them.

Paula recalls how nice the couple were, and that they said that they would call their new baby Paul, in honour of her. Forty-five years later, Paula still wonders if she made the right choice. Was Paul happy growing up?

He confides in Nicky Campbell: “If I only get to say ‘Thank you for everything that you’ve given me’, that will make me happy and content.”

When Davina tells Paula that her son has been found, she confirms that his adoptive parents did call him Paul. An emotional Paula, so grateful that he’s been located, says: “I never ever thought that this would happen.” When they meet in the centre of Liverpool, Paul sees his birth mother and immediately notices that the physical similarity is uncanny.

He says: “I’m definitely yours.” Paula says: “My hope is for him to continue with his life and for me to be a little part of that. That’s enough for me.”