Foundling | Tortoise Investigates

Episode 3: "In the Blood"

Host: Lucy Greenwell
Date: April 7, 2026

Episode Overview

Episode 3 of "Foundling" delves into the remarkable and harrowing discovery that Jess, the baby abandoned in Suffolk in 1987, is not the only child her birth mother Jennifer left behind in secret. Through expert interviews, moving testimonies, and careful reconstruction of late-1980s Britain, reporter Lucy Greenwell unpacks the phenomenon of concealed pregnancy and abandonment, the lasting impact of secrecy and trauma on everyone involved, and the complicated, sometimes painful exploration of family through modern DNA technology. The episode’s big reveal is the discovery of Jess’s half-sister, Helen, also a foundling—deeply shaking the long-held perceptions and hopes Jess had about her origins.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Concealed Pregnancies: Fear and Trauma

[02:22-04:35]

• Sylvia Murphy, midwife and public health researcher, describes her work interviewing women who concealed their pregnancies.
  • Unified by fear: fear of families, job loss, abusive partners, or simply the stigma.
  • Most confided in no one; a few gave birth completely alone.
  • Quote:

    “They spoke of terror, of being paralyzed, of that fear just taking over…still could not go and tell their mother.” (Sylvia Murphy, 02:22)

• Lucy draws connections to Jess’s birth mother and the possibility of concealed trauma influencing Jennifer’s choices.

2. DNA Discovery: Unexpected Revelations

[05:02-13:46]

• Jess submits her DNA to Ancestry, hoping for answers. Within minutes, social worker Ariel Bruce (of ITV's "Long Lost Family") spots a match: Jess is connected to another foundling, Helen.
  • The revelation that Jess has a half-sister shocks both women.
  • Quote:

    “14 months old, like, no, no words can express when you think that someone has dumped you on the side of a road that they’d then go and do it again.” (Jess, 13:25)

• Both girls were found abandoned as newborns in different counties, 14 months apart—an extremely rare occurrence.

3. The Second Abandonment: Helen's Story

[14:00-18:09]

• Helen was discovered in a cardboard box outside a hospital in Chesterfield in late 1988.
  • The local press dubbed her “Jill” before adoption.
  • Interviews with hospital staff and midwife Daphne Lewis highlight the care taken to ensure the child was quickly found.
• Lucy explores the physical geography of Helen’s abandonment and the emotional difficulty of imagining how a mother could walk away—twice.

4. Stigma and Silence: The 1980s Context

[20:03-26:05]

• Lucy and former Just Seventeen features editor Fiona Gibson reconstruct the pervasive ignorance and stigma surrounding teen sex and pregnancy in the late 1980s.
  • Minimal sex education, widespread myths, and isolation.
  • Societal disdain for single mothers; political and media moralizing under Margaret Thatcher.
  • Quote:

    “Becoming pregnant by accident as a teenager…you can hardly imagine anything more terrifying and awful, really.” (Fiona Gibson, 22:49)

• Jess struggles to understand why her mother couldn’t seek help: “...why would you not?”
• Lucy contextualizes: Abortion was legal but hard to access; social services intimidating, especially for someone in a controlling family environment.

5. The Ripple Effects of Secrecy and Abandonment

[27:52-29:46]

• Sylvia Murphy notes the lifelong trauma and sadness for women who conceal pregnancies and give birth alone, a “ripple that lasted a lifetime.”
  • Doing this twice, as Jennifer did, is almost undocumented in research.
  • The impact is long-lasting, regardless of later life successes.

6. Jess & Helen’s Reunion and Rift

[32:25-35:02]

• The sisters meet on camera for "Long Lost Family," an emotional, life-changing day for both.
  • “I cannot believe how similar we are…I can’t wait to meet her kids, her fiancé…change both of our lives for the better.” (Jess, 33:16)
• Hope soon turns to heartbreak: their fragile bond collapses over differing attitudes toward their birth mother.
  • Helen seeks a relationship and forgiveness; Jess refuses.
  • Helen’s illness, not animosity, is cited as why she missed Jess's wedding.
  • “Never in a million years did I think that was the one and only time I’d ever see her and ever meet her.” (Jess, 34:07)

7. Family Secrets Unravel, but Answers Remain Elusive

[35:02-43:31]

• After the sisters’ story airs, Jennifer admits the truth to her immediate family, but avoids contact with her found daughters.
  • Jess describes a tentative, comforting relationship with her “new” grandparents and aunt Rachel, but Jennifer herself remains distant.
  • Jess and Jennifer have only one stilted phone call, in which Jess declines a relationship:

    “I just shut it down really quick and I just said, look, I’m not the one that wants to talk to you. Helen’s the one that wants to talk to you, not me. I’m not interested in a relationship with you. I never have.” (Jess, 40:19) “I have your number, so if I ever do want to contact you, I will. But I said, I probably won’t and let’s just leave it at that.” (Jess, 40:43)

  • Jess reflects on her reasons for not pursuing answers:

    “I just know I wouldn’t ever get the answers that I need or want because I feel like her life has been built on a web of lies.” (Jess, 43:17)

8. The Search for Jess's Father: DNA, Rumor, and New Roadblocks

[44:02-47:39]

• Jess, assisted by aunt Rachel, investigates her paternal origins—her DNA reveals an unexpected Germanic heritage.
  • A possible candidate is identified, with a matching surname and several other children in the area.
  • Before Jess can approach, she receives a text from Jennifer’s therapist (from Jennifer’s phone) asking her to "let sleeping dogs lie" and stop searching, claiming Jennifer “genuinely does not know who the father is.”
  • Jess bristles at the oddity and possible ulterior motives behind this message:

    “When has a professional therapist ever written a message from their client’s phone and to their client’s abandoned child telling them to back off?” (Lucy, 47:39)

9. The Emotional Fallout: Anger, Grief, and Unanswered Questions

[48:20-48:43]

• Jess and Lucy reflect on the lasting frustration:
  • “I’m not out to break up families and I’m sorry I was born like, what do you want me to do?” (Jess, 48:29)
  • “I think I’ll always be angry because you’re constantly thinking, could it have ended differently had things been different?” (Jess, 48:43)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "They spoke of terror, of being paralyzed, of that fear just taking over..."
  (Sylvia Murphy, 02:22)
• "14 months old, like, no, no words can express when you think that someone has dumped you on the side of a road that they’d then go and do it again."
  (Jess, 13:25)
• “Becoming pregnant by accident as a teenager… you can hardly imagine anything more terrifying and awful, really.”
  (Fiona Gibson, 22:49)
• "Never in a million years did I think that was the one and only time I'd ever see her and ever meet her."
  (Jess, 34:07)
• "The concealed pregnancy left a ripple that lasted a lifetime."
  (Sylvia Murphy, 28:47)
• "I just know I wouldn't ever get the answers that I need or want because I feel like her life has been built on a web of lies."
  (Jess, 43:17)

Important Timestamps

• 02:22 - Sylvia Murphy discusses fear of concealed pregnancy.
• 05:02 - Jess’s DNA test triggers the discovery of a half-sister.
• 13:12–13:46 - Jess's shock at learning her mother abandoned another baby.
• 14:00–18:09 - Helen's abandonment story; parallels with Jess.
• 20:03–26:05 - The societal context and stigma of teen pregnancy in the 1980s.
• 32:25–35:02 - Jess and Helen’s emotional in-person reunion and subsequent falling out.
• 39:46–43:31 - Jess’s only phone conversation with her birth mother Jennifer.
• 44:02–47:39 - The search for Jess’s real father and new family drama.
• 48:20–48:43 - Reflections on anger, pain, and the search for meaning and closure.

Tone and Narrative Voice

The episode is at once forensic and empathetic, with Lucy Greenwell’s narration methodically piecing together fragmented histories while respecting the emotional complexity of Jess, Helen, and the surrounding family. Jess is straightforward and sometimes brusque, honest about her boundaries and lingering pain, while the expert and historical context ground the sensational elements in sobering reality. Lucy’s tone is reflective and, at times, incredulous—clearly invested in the search for understanding, but unflinching about the limits of what can be known.

Summary

“In the Blood” is a powerful exploration of family secrets, the legacy of hidden trauma, and the life-altering consequences of abandonment. By centering lived experience, psychological research, and cultural context, the episode reveals just how rare, painful, and misunderstood cases like Jess’s and Helen’s truly are. Whether closure is possible or not remains uncertain; what’s clear is that every search for kinship and truth comes at a cost.