DNA Trail

Laura decides to challenge the New Zealand government when she’s denied citizenship due to her dad being born out of ‘wedlock’. She petitions for a change in the law in recognition of her father’s heritage and her own. In te reo Māori - the indigenous language of New Zealand – the country is called Aotearoa, which means Land of the Long White Cloud. Laura locates a missing kahukiwi - a traditional kiwi feather Māori cloak - which was gifted to one of her ancestors. John Campbell, one of New Zealand’s most famous journalists speaks about Laura’s tenacity and in an emotional reunion, Esther Rantzen shares some words of wisdom with Laura about being a campaigner.

Jayne and Laura reflect on the remarkable similarities and coincidences they’ve uncovered. They explore the circumstances which led everyone down the wrong path for so many years. When Coronavirus lockdown hits, Laura asks the New Zealand government about recognising her family lineage. She’s shocked when an antiquated law at the time of her father’s birth points towards an injustice, one that Laura is determined to rectify.

Laura and Jayne meet Billy’s half-sister at the Sky Tower in Auckland and learn more about Billy’s dad. Through Ancestry DNA they finally get clarification about the mystery man’s identity when Laura shows her new found aunty the cut-out photo of Madeleine sat on Brighton Beach. A small twist in a name reveals why Billy navigated off course for so many years.

In her pyjamas and fluffy cat slippers Laura represents herself remotely in the Palmerston North Family Court in New Zealand. The judge remarks that this is a 'more than unusual' case when Laura asks for a paternity test between two deceased people using their biopsy samples. When the test results come back, Laura and Jayne must question everything that they think they know. The team go to meet an Oxford ethics professor who thinks that giving the gift of DNA testing is not always the present you want it to be. With the search spotlight back on Brighton an unexpected 'ping' brings hope and a change of course for the mother-daughter duo.

Laura and Jayne take the unusual step of getting Billy’s DNA via his lung cancer biopsy. They ask the Anderson family for a direct DNA test between William Anderson and Billy to prove they’re father and son. When communication fizzles out the mother-daughter duo are left with no option but to go to court. Meanwhile, with a DNA test kit in her handbag, Jayne recalls going to Ryde on the Isle of Wight to meet the woman claiming to be related to Billy.