Good NewsWoman wins ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ to fund reunion with long-lost son
Dawn Hawkins, 61, gave her son Glyn up for adoption 45 years ago. When the Welsh woman learned that her long-lost son is now living in Australia, she decided to fund a reunion by appearing on the ITV1 game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
"I've watched every single episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and now I'm hoping I can win enough money to fly out to see him," Hawkins told WalesOnline before competing on the show.
Hawkins won £75,000 ($118,000 CAD) and almost immediately flew the 10,000 miles to meet her son.
"I never thought I'd see my son again so it's amazing to actually be out here," Hawkins told the Daily Mail from Brisbane.
"No mum ever forgets their child and I'm so glad I got the chance to meet Glyn and to give him a great big hug. I might not have gone home a millionaire — but this trip is worth more than that anyway. I feel like the richest woman in the world."
Hawkins was 15 years old when she gave birth to Glyn, then named Keith. Hawkins' parents put the baby up for adoption six weeks after his birth.
"I had no say on it at the time," she said.
"He was six weeks when he was taken. We were living in a mother and baby home and we all had to do various jobs. I was scrubbing the kitchen floor when one of the other girls ran in and said, 'They're taking Keith.' I ran as fast as I could and I found them taking the baby. I asked them if I could give him a kiss and that was the last I saw of him," she told WalesOnline.
Hawkins went on to get married and have two other children, Samantha, 41, and Brian, 40.
Last year, Samantha helped Hawkins search for Glyn and tracked him down using detective work and adoption forms. They learned that Glyn had been adopted by a family from Manchester, then emigrated to Australia when he met his wife.
Soon mother and son were talking on the phone.
"I spoke to him a lot on the telephone but I could never have afforded the flights to get there," Hawkins said, adding that Glyn was supportive of her idea to fund a trip to Australia through a game show. "But going on Millionaire made it possible for me to go down to Australia to see him for the first time since he was a six-week-old tot."
Hawkins arrived in Brisbane with her two other adult children to meet Glyn, his wife and his two daughters.
"He's had a very happy life and for that I'm truly grateful. The older I got, the more emotional I got thinking about him and I would love to give him a big hug again," Hawkins said before their tearful reunion.
Glyn was equally excited about Hawkins' win:
"It is fantastic to be with my mother after all those years. I'm so glad she got those [game show] questions right," he said.
