Long Lost Family host Davina McCall came under fire last night (Wednesday, July 2) for her behaviour during the show.
Fans of the series took to Twitter to slam the star, with some branding her behaviour “weird”.
What happened on Long Lost Family last night?
Last night’s edition of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace saw Davina and her co-host, Nicky Campbell, meet Chris, who, at three months old, had been left in the care of a childminder in King’s Cross, London.
More than 60 years on, Chris contacted the Long Lost Family team in the hope of learning more about his birth family.
Chris explained that he was dropped off at the child minder’s by a man called John Jones. ‘Jones’ told the childminder Chris’ mother would be picking him up at teatime. She never did. No one ever came forward following public appeals either.
“Why wait three months?” he mused as he discussed his abandonment.
He also speculated that he could have come from “anywhere” considering King’s Cross Station was so close by.
Chris was adopted by a couple and grew up in Camden, London, along with their children.
“Couldn’t have gone into a better family,” he said.
Davina’s conversation with Chris
In 2021, Chris took a DNA test. His results came back as 100% Irish.
Later in the show, it was revealed that Chris’ birth parents had been found. His birth mother had sadly died, but his birth father was still alive.
He learned that his birth mother and father hadn’t been married when they had Chris. However, after Chris’s abandonment, they had gone on to marry and have more children, meaning Chris has four siblings.
Davina then travelled to Chris’ home to give him some information about his family.
During the conversation, Davina revealed that Chris’ birth mother was in her early eighties when she died. When he asked whether she would have been in her early twenties having him, Davina simply nodded.
When asked if his birth mother had lived in London, Davina said that she’d come from Ireland the year before Chris’ birth.
She also shared the news that his father was still alive, that he didn’t know about Chris, and that Chris has siblings. She also shared some photos of Chris’ birth family with him.
Viewers baffled by Davina’s ‘weird’ behaviour
Much of the conversation was largely one-sided and driven by Chris, who understandably had lots of questions. But it was what some viewers saw as “vague” answers from Davina that sparked the backlash.
“That was an odd conversation between Davina and Chris, poor man had so many questions and was getting vague responses. Lovely, understanding man, hope he gets the answers he needs, and yes, I know it’s a huge shock to his birth family,” one viewer said.
“That whole one-sided conversation then with Davina was weird,” another tweeted.
“Repeating hmm is not pulling your balance in the conversation, Davina. You aren’t Frank Spencer. Is she getting paid for this [bleep]?” a third fumed.
“If Chris hadn’t asked all the questions, would he have actually been told anything?” another asked. “Omg just tell him the answers. Poor man has a lot of questions,” a fifth fumed.
‘Made me tearful’
There was plenty of praise for Chris, with viewers feeling emotional over his “understanding” reaction to news about his birth family.
“An emotional one on #longlostfamily tonight! Made me tearful!” one viewer tweeted after Davina told Chris what she’d learnt about his birth family.
“What a lovely, empathetic and forgiving man,” another said.
Read more: Long Lost Family viewers fuming over ‘disappointing’ episode: ‘A big let down’
Long Lost Family is available on ITVX now.
What do you think of this story? Let us know with a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.