David Lomas has been digging into people’s personal lives for 15 years, making television programmes where, typically, people are looking for a family member they have either never met or lost contact with.
He has done Missing Pieces, Lost And Found and Family Secret and now he is back on screen with new episodes of David Lomas Investigates.
Once again, the journalist and presenter is travelling to various spots in New Zealand and overseas to solve mysteries or reunite family members.
This time he is visiting the United States, Romania, the Cook Islands and Australia, where he spoke to TV Guide from a filming location in the Outback.
Anyone who has watched David Lomas Investigates will know that when people are reunited on camera, it can be a happy occasion or, at the least, provide closure for one or both parties. But what happens when things don’t go to plan and people would rather keep their personal lives private?
“We do have some people who reject outright what we do and don’t want to have anything to do with their biological children,” says Lomas, referring to cases where a person who may have been adopted is looking for their birth parent.
Supplied
Journalist David Lomas aims to solve mysteries and reunite family members in David Lomas Investiagates.
“But the overwhelming thing is the decency of people. Most people will embrace and welcome the lost person, like fathers who had never realised they had fathered a child or weren’t certain.
“In this series, we’ve got a couple of stories which touch upon people who weren’t sure if they had a child.
“We track them down and the situations are very interesting because what they were led to believe is not always true.
“Blokes had heard later, or been told, that they were possibly the father and had gone for 30, 40 years being uncertain if they were a dad.
READ MORE:
* David Lomas Investigates looking for new season of mysteries
* David Lomas Investigates: The ‘hokey’ little show with heart
* David Lomas Investigates Māori family’s Chinese connection
* David Lomas Investigates stories of heartache caused by mothers who deceive
“When it comes up, they want to know the answers. In some of the stories there is disappointment and real sorrow for people who’ve discovered that what they thought was true, wasn’t.”
Lomas talks about some of the season’s other stories, such as mothers looking for children who were adopted out.
Then there is a case of a woman who can’t recall the name of her son’s biological father.
“A woman had a relationship 30-odd years ago in Sydney (which resulted in) a son who she’s very proud of,” he says.
Lomas says the woman didn’t remember the name of the man she had the relationship with.
“She had never been able to find him,” he says.
Supplied
“We do use some social media, but not very much,” says David Lomas.
When it comes to tracking people down, Lomas employs various methods. He points out that social media isn’t as useful as many people might expect.
“We do use some social media, but not very much,” he says. “Facebook has lost its popularity and lots and lots of people no longer show who their friends are or anything.
“If they’re on Facebook they might not display a photo of themselves in their profile photo and their settings might be private.
“It’s not such a public thing any more. So all of sudden, that’s closed in on us and made it harder.”
If or when he does track people down and there is an on-camera reunion, it can be an emotional time.
“There are so many times when it’s just a really good connection and it’s fabulous and people have a lot in common even though they don’t know each other.
“But there is also a sense of relief too when they get an answer.”
However, Lomas hints that people should take a realistic approach when it comes to reunions.
“Some people know what might happen,” he says. “They accept it but they tell me, ‘I just want answers’ and ‘I realise we might not get on but at least I’ll know’.
“But with other people I’ll say, ‘Look you’ll meet but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get instant happiness or instant connections’.”
Having been a fixture on television screens for 15 years thanks to his documentary series, Lomas is sometimes approached by members of the public.
“Lots of people stop and want to tell me their stories about what they’ve done,” he says referring to people who have taken the initiative to find a missing or estranged family member.
“Many of them say they’ve been inspired by the programme, which is nice.
“They’ve thought about it and thought about it and when they see the programme they tell themselves, ‘Well I must get on and do it’.”
David Lomas Investigates, Three, starts Wednesday August 17.
