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WHEN Paul Connolly met the half brother he never knew he had, they were both struck by their uncanny physical resemblance.
It prompted his long-lost sibling Frankie Peroni, the elder of the two, to declare it was “like looking in a mirror”.
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But both were left dumbfounded when they discovered the extraordinary parallels between their lives during their emotionally charged first meeting, which airs tonight on ITV’s Long Lost Family.
Not only were both their mothers Irish Catholic, the half brothers also attended the same school in Essex, at the same time - and they now live just 14 miles away from each other.
Ahead of tonight's show, dad-of-two Paul, 60, who lives in Billericay, Essex, tells The Sun: “There are so many similarities.”
On meeting Frankie, 62, he adds: “When we met there was this familiarity.
“It wasn’t like I was meeting someone new. It was as if I’d known him forever. He is a good guy.
"He’s an old Cockney geezer and I’m a slightly bigger old Cockney geezer.”
Paul, a former celebrity fitness trainer who has worked with supermodel Elle Macpherson and now runs a successful sports injury clinic, was born in Stepney Green, east London, in 1962.
His mum suffered a breakdown when he was a baby and left him abandoned in a dustbin.
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He recalls: “My mother put me out with the rubbish when I was two weeks old.”
Luckily a neighbour heard Paul’s cries and called social services. He was taken into care, but had a tough upbringing.
Aged eight he was sent to St. Leonard’s Children’s Home in Hornchurch, Essex, where he says he endured physical and emotional abuse.
Paul, whose early life inspired last year’s hit Netflix film Big Boys Don't Cry, starring This Is England actor Michael Socha, says: “I used to hide under my bed with a knife for protection.”
On his birth certificate, Matthew and Mary Connolly, who were Irish immigrants, are listed as Paul's parents.
Paul, who was later able to access his social services file, says: “They moved to the East End to try to make ends meet. Stepney Green was an absolute slum in the late 60s.”
He only saw his mum a handful of times growing up, and had limited contact with his seven siblings, who Paul says all went into care at some point - although they were in different homes to him.
But he recalls being aware that he looked different to his brother, who was “fair and ginger”.
He says: “My older brother used to say to me, ‘You’re Pino’s son.’ It was said a few times.”
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Pino was a local Maltese businessman who ran a shop close to where his family lived.
Paul says: “He was an entrepreneur. He had a cafe, a newsagent and he owned property. I believe he hung around with the Krays.”
He'd always thought his brother was joking and thought little more about it.
But decades later, his sons Harley, 19, and 14-year-old Archie bought him a DNA test sampling kit as a Christmas present in 2021.
He says: “I’ve always said to my sons, ‘you know, you’re all Irish’.”
But he was stunned to discover the results revealed he was half Irish, half Maltese.
He says: “The first name that popped into my head was Pino.”
My older brother used to say to me, ‘You’re Pino’s son.’ It was said a few times
Paul Connolly
Paul knew the chances of finding his birth father were slim. He says: “I’m 61 this year so I knew he might well not be alive.”
After widening the DNA analysis, Long Lost Family’s specialist researchers discovered Paul had a half brother and were able to track him down.
During the show dad-of-two Frankie, who runs an IT business and is a semi-professional singer songwriter, tells presenter Nicky Campbell his dad was a Maltese shop owner called Philip Psaila, also known as Pino.
Frankie grew up with his mum and Pino would visit occasionally before he died in 1968.
When Frankie’s mum fell ill he was fostered, and at one point lived in Hornchurch, Essex, just like Paul.
Shockingly they both attended Bishop Ward, an all-boys Catholic school in Dagenham, Essex, now called All Saints Catholic School.
Paul says: “We went to the same school at the same time.
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“He’s a couple of years older than me so we weren’t in the same class, but we would have walked the same corridors.”
In another coincidence, their paths crossed again when they were older.
Paul explains: “Frankie actually said to me, ‘You look familiar’. He is a musician and it turned out he used to go to the same nightclub where I worked as head door man.
“No doubt I would have searched him on the way in.”
Frankie’s mum died in 2017, while Paul’s mum passed away a few years ago.
Reflecting on the reasons why his mum abandoned him, Paul says: “My mum must have known I would look different to the rest of the kids.
"I think she was embarrassed that I was illegitimate. In the 60s, that was a big deal.
Mum had a tough upbringing and she had to do what she had to do to survive. It was probably the best thing she could have done really
Paul Connolly
“She had a tough upbringing and she had to do what she had to do to survive. It was probably the best thing she could have done really.”
He adds: “I probably only had about three or four conversations with my mum. She could have told me at any time but she chose to die with that.”
The half brothers have been enjoying getting to know each other since their first meeting at an Essex pub last October.
Paul says: “Frankie loves to send me a WhatsApp voice note. He’s been away and has been sending me pictures of his travels. We’re due to have lunch soon.”
He has also been in contact with Frankie’s daughters, Gemma, 40, and Katie, 38, and hopes one day to meet them and his granddaughters, Ellie, 14, and four-year-old Ayla.
Paul says: “My partner Rebecca has met Frankie and gets on with him. My son Archie loves him.
"Harley is away at university so they haven’t met yet.
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“Archie is huge in comparison to Frankie. He is just under 6ft and when I said, ‘This is your uncle,’ he jokingly asked, ‘What, this little bald bloke?’”
Long Lost Family airs on Monday 3 July at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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