Nicky Campbell speaks on the reality of adoption

Nicky, who was adopted himself, has spoken about how it has changed over the decades, with families being given much more support than ever before. The dad of four girls told The Scotsman that he was lucky when he was adopted to parents who were open to him.

And he said the times has changed from when the stigma of being born out of wedlock has disappeared.

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Nicky, recently appointed as an ambassador for Adoption UK and Adoption Week Scotland, said: “There are still too many children in care who need to be looked after by caring parents.

“The stigma of adoption has disappeared now, but we need more people to be parents for those children who are needing a protective family atomospher.

“We are not living in the 60s and 70s when children were given up because their mother was not married. Most are now coming from a horrific background of neglect or abuse because of the times we are living in.

“I want to champion Adoption Week Scotland and persuade decision-makers across Scotland to give all adoptive families the right to timely and appropriate support.

The dad of four girls, who co hosts ITV’s Long Lost Family, added: “My adoptive parents selflessly took me in as their own and provided a loving and stable family home. Adoptive parents are unsung heroes. They are giving vulnerable children a chance in life.

“The ‘happy ever after’ stories of adoptees being reunited with their birth parents will only become rarer and rarer.”

There are currently 14,400 children in looked after care in Scotland. Last year 500 were adopted - 284 of these were ‘stranger’ adoptions - not family members.