Season seven of ITV’s Long Lost Family aired on Wednesday 26th July, capturing the largest audience of the evening with 4.2 million people tuning in at 9pm, and an extra 230,000 viewers watching on ITV+1.

Ariel and her team had undertaken all of the research and investigation to trace the missing family members for the show, so it’s particularly rewarding to see their hard work pay off with such high viewing figures.

The Daily Telegraph’s review (click here to open) said: “Long Lost Family offers cathartic balm in a world of psychic stress”. The joy of watching previously lost family members reunited in highly emotional scenes dominated the headlines of other national newspapers too.

Many people took to Twitter to express their love for the show as the hashtag ‘Long Lost Family’ was trending around the country throughout the evening. People who have been helped by Ariel and the LLF team also posted about their experiences of working with the team, expressing their gratitude to the show. This included Ann Beggs, one of the reunited sisters featured in episode one.

Your team found my Birth Mother. She denied me, yet your team still work with me now. Your programme changes lives x #longlostfamily

— Pip R (@AtTheMoulin) July 26, 2017

Huge thank you to everyone who has messaged me. Can’t thank the LLF team enough, the love and care they give is outstanding #longlostfamily

— Ann Beggs (@AnnBeggs) July 27, 2017

To catch up on episode one of series seven, as well as previous seasons, click on the link to visit the ITV Hub (click link to watch).

Episode two of the series airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesday 2nd August.