Born From The Same Stranger reunites sperm donor siblings

The same team are behind this series, which began last week and is narrated by Long Lost Family presenter Davina McCall.

However, Born from the Same Stranger takes a slightly different angle as it features people who were conceived with help from a donor.

As on Long Lost Family, some of them will be hoping to solve mysteries about their own identities, but there’s also a chance that they could encounter siblings they never knew they existed.

Born from the Same Stranger is being made as a UK law change takes effect in 2023, which will see donor anonymity disappear meaning anyone conceived by donation after 2005 will be able to apply to find out more details about their identity as soon as they turn 18.

As Leanne Klein, managing director of production company Wall to Wall Media, says: “[The series} is built around stories that are not only highly personal but incredibly modern and absolutely of the moment – they simply couldn’t have been told before.

“Now for these young people who have been missing a vital piece of their own story there’s a real chance of closure and we’ll be with them for every turn of these dynamic and emotional journeys.”

For those who were born before 2005, there may be additional hurdles as well as ethical dilemmas around identifying donors who believed they would be anonymous. Luckily, the show has a team of experts on hand to support the participants as they use DNA technology to learn more about their beginnings.

Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV Controller of Factual, says: “For many people born to anonymous donors, finding out the hidden stories of where they come from and who their blood relations are is a deep and long-held desire.

"And as this series will show, their stories are moving, astonishing and reveal much about the human condition.”

The second episode introduces viewers to brother and sister Tom and Isabel. He was conceived from a double donation of both sperm and egg and Isabel was conceived from a donated embryo.

They both trace their donors, who talk about their reasons for getting involved with the process, but Isabel’s story takes an unexpected twist when she learns she has a genetic twin who is seven years older than her.

Meanwhile, Marco was born to same sex parents during the 1980s and has always known she was conceived with the help of a donor – until she started school, she didn’t realise that there was anything unusual about it.

At the time she was born, fertility clinics did not accept lesbian parents, which meant her conception was part of an informal arrangement and there is no official paperwork relating to it.

It seems her only hope lies with putting her DNA on a commercial website and seeing what she finds out.