A Dundee family stunned their relatives with a trio of surprises when they featured on prime time television over the weekend.
The Polson family starred in a segment of ITV’s Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
The surprises culminated with mother Diane Polson being reunited with her long-lost half sister – with the family all visibly emotional at the end.
Oh What A Night!
Tonight Diana got the surprise of a lifetime as she was reunited with her long lost half sister on live telly! #SaturdayNightTakeaway pic.twitter.com/oBQb6EAxsl
— Saturday Night Takeaway (@itvtakeaway) March 31, 2018
The family were originally scheduled to appear on the show around Mother’s Day, but had to postpone it after Diane was taken into hospital with a heart problem.
This led to Dec making sure she was feeling OK several times during the family’s appearance.
First up was Kevin, who sang on live TV for his mother. He performed with Jersey Boys, singing December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night).
He said: “It was one of the most phenomenal experiences.
“Everybody on that show, from the top to the bottom, was amazing and treated us so well.
“It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Next up was daughter Katie, who received psychotherapy to get over her fear of flying so the family could go on holiday. In a pre-recorded section, she was shown not being able to be near a plane without crying, but after the therapy she was able to sit in the cockpit as it took off – though she was still shrieking as the plane began its ascent.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/lAuolNenuu
— Craig Polson (@craigiepolie) April 1, 2018
And finally, son Craig came on the stage to announce that they had found Diane’s long lost sister Carole Ann – who was put up for adoption before Diane was born.
There were tears from all the family as the long-lost sisters embraced each other.
Diane knew that she was in for a surprise but did not know the finer details of what was in store for her.
The Dundonian family were given a holiday in Barbados by the makers of the show for their participation.
Declan Donnelly was assisted by Davina McCall for the segment as it was done in the style of her show This Time Next Year.
The episode was noticeable for the absence of co-host Ant McPartlin who missed out after being charged with drink driving.
