Janette Croft always had an inkling that the man she called ‘dad’ wasn’t actually her biological father and then, one day, her suspicions were confirmed.
But the question of who her biological dad was remained, especially as there were three possibilities.
The 50-year-old, who found herself in the middle of Mamma Mia’s plot, spent years pouring over research until a mystery woman reached out to her daughter, Carly, on Facebook 43 years after first learning the truth.
Janette said, 'My sister had fair hair, whereas I had auburn curls. I stuck out like a sore thumb.
'After a friend’s mum got remarried, it suddenly struck me that I had no clue who my biological dad was – so I questioned my mum.'
She said, 'It was either Robert, an ice cream man, Terry*, who ran a market stall, or Charles*, who my mum met at church. At that age, I only wondered if he had red curly hair like me.'
After getting a landline fitted, Janette trawled through the Yellow Pages trying to find Robert and Terry, but gave up on Charles as her mum couldn’t remember his surname. She said, 'It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.'
'But then I found Terry’s number and discovered he was still living in the local area. It took me 24 years to pluck up the courage to call him. When I did, a woman answered, so I slammed down the phone, as I felt awful about dropping this potential bombshell on his family. But I had to know if he was my dad – so I called back,' she recalled.
Janette on the beach as a child with her curly auburn hair.
Janette told him that she could be his daughter and after much denial, he agreed to a DNA test. Sadly, her search continued, as the results weren’t a match.
After a 13-year hiatus, her detective work continued after her partner bought a DNA kit from Ancestry. She sent off a saliva sample and two weeks later, her matches were available. While none of them were close, Janette had nothing to lose and so sent off messages asking if any knew of Robert or Charles.
With no replies, she officially threw in the towel and called it quits until a message popped up on her 26-year-old daughter’s phone from a woman called Gemma.
Janette said, 'I didn’t know anybody by that name – but it was clear she was trying to reach me. I opened my own Facebook and found a message from her, too. It explained how I came up as a match for her when submitting DNA to Ancestry. Apparently, I was a dead ringer for her Uncle Bob. And he was an ice cream man.'
'Electricity coursed through my body before several photos came through showing a bald man with kind eyes and a grin. I knew instantly that was him – he was my dad.'
Janette and her biological father Bob.
Other photos revealed that Bob’s sister and niece had Janette’s red curly locks. Feeling hopeful, her high emotions were crushed when Gemma revealed he had sadly passed away less than a year earlier.
She said, 'It turned out the surname he gave my mum was his grandparent’s surname, which explained why I hadn’t been able to track him down.
'It was gutting to know I’d never got to meet him but Gemma put me in touch with Ice Cream Bob’s best friend who told me all about him over FaceTime. They were bikers and he loved Guinness, as well as a Chinese. Just like me.'
In August 2023, Janette and Gemma met in person, along with her aunt Bez – Bob’s sister. While it wasn’t the outcome she hoped for, she’s glad to finally know who her flesh and blood was.
She added, 'I feel a sense of peace now that I haven’t felt since my mum first revealed there were three possible dad candidates. I missed out on meeting Bob, but I’ve been able to learn a lot about him through my cousins. And, if anything, my mission was a success as I’ve found my long-lost family.'