Introducing… Foundling
7/7/20264 min
On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have driven a mother to leave her child in such an isolated place? When Lucy tracks Jess down, she finds a woman already deep in her own search for the truth, and a story far more tangled than either of them expected. What unfolds is a tale of long-held secrets and unintended consequences that spirals out of Jess’s control.
Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.
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Reporter - Lucy Greenwell
Producer - Katie Gunning
Original theme music - Tom Kinsella
Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop
Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp
Narrative editor - Gary Marshall
Editor - Jasper Corbett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLucy Greenwell· Host0:00
[suspenseful music] Tortoise Investigates.
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:05
[pensive music] The six pound three and a half ounce baby is doing well in hospital after being dumped in an orange and white plastic bag around mid-morning yesterday on the quiet- Imagine growing up with no idea about where you were born or who gave birth to you.
Lucy Greenwell· Host0:28
The opening scenes of your life are a complete blank. All you know is that as a newborn baby, you were abandoned. You are a foundling.
Jess· Guest0:40
I was found on the side of a road in a village in Suffolk. I was wearing a vest and a nappy.
Lucy Greenwell· Host0:50
This is how Jess' life begins in 1987. For decades, Jess has been looking for answers.
Jess· Guest1:00
No one's gonna put their DNA out there. No one will want to be found.
Lucy Greenwell· Host1:04
Then DNA gave her names, and out there are people who hoped they'd never be found.
Jess· Guest1:12
We all sat there and was like, "What has just happened?"
Lucy Greenwell· Host1:16
I'm Lucy Greenwell, and Jess' story has gripped me since I was a child because I remember the day the baby was found.