What is Born from the Same Stranger?
Born from the Same Stranger is a new four-part ITV family history series, following donor-conceived people as they trace their biological family members.
Donor-conceived people are people who were conceived using sperm or egg donation, meaning they have a biological father or mother, and potentially half-siblings, who they’ve never met.
In 2005, the law changed, so donor-conceived people would have the automatic right to find out their donor’s identity when they turned 18. This law took effect in 2023 as the first people affected came of age. But as Born from the Same Stranger reveals, those born earlier than 2005 are searching anyway, using a combination of easily accessible DNA tests, genetic genealogy and social media advice. And it’s not an easy journey; they come up against barriers and ethical dilemmas as they pursue their desire to know more about where they come from. Their detective work is supported every step of the way by professional genealogists and intermediaries and a specially created social media community of donor conceived contemporaries.
Born from the Same Stranger is produced by Wall to Wall, who also make Who Do You Think You Are?, and is narrated by Davina McCall.
When is Born from the Same Stranger on TV?
The first episode of Born from the Same Stranger will be broadcast at 9pm on ITV1 on Monday 22 January. The following episodes will be broadcast at 9pm on Monday 29 January, Monday 5 January and Monday 12 January.
The first episode follows Liam Renouf. Born to a single mother on Jersey in 1995, Liam’s research takes him back to an era of sperm donation when nearly 500 men regularly dropped off samples at clinics across the country – in part because many were paid £15 per sample and their anonymity was guaranteed. Liam attempts to identify his donor from non-identifying information from the clinic. An even bigger revelation awaits when Liam puts his DNA up on commercial websites and quickly finds himself meeting up with four half-siblings.
We also meet Sarah Smith, who only discovered she was donor conceived four years ago. Brought up in Singapore with a Singaporean mother and white British father, Sarah had no idea that her dad was not her biological father until he passed away.
