30 October 2005
SundayMirror
By Michael Duffy
I fancied him like mad.. then found out he was my brother
X FACTOR addict Donna Graham told last night how she tracked down her long-lost brother...and discovered he was the show's heart-throb Shayne Ward.
Donna was already gunning for favourite Shayne to win... and admitted she even FANCIED him.
"I'm a huge X Factor fan and remember seeing Shayne's audition and thinking he was absolutely gorgeous," she said
"Now I can't wait to meet him and find out what he is like in real life."
Donna, 29, who was raised by foster parents, was amazed to discover the family secret after tracking down her mother, Angela Thornhill, 49, by getting a copy of her birth certificate.
"I found out about Shayne while I was actually watching him sing on the show," says Donna, of Winsford, Cheshire, who has a son, Liam, two. "Angela texted me to ask if I was tuned in to it - and asked me to phone her.
"I did and started talking about Shayne, saying how good-looking he is and how fantastic his voice sounds.
"Completely out of the blue Angela said 'Shayne is your half- brother. You have the same father.' My eyes froze on the telly and his face. I put the phone down and sat there struggling to take it in. All my life I've had this empty feeling about my family and where I come from.
"I don't know whether Shayne knows who I am or if I even exist. Hopefully he'll be curious to find out about me and I'd love to meet him in time for Christmas. I love getting up and belting out a tune on the karaoke. So maybe we can have a family get-together and duet together.
"Whatever happens, I'm proud to know he's my brother and is doing so well for himself."
But Donna was heartbroken to discover that the father she shares with Shayne, Martin Ward, 50, was convicted of a horrific sexual assault on an elderly woman and sentenced to eight years prison in July.
As well as Donna, Ward is said to have fathered at least two other children with women other than Shayne's mum, Philomena. Manchester-based Shayne, 21, hasn't spoken to his pervert father for more than six years and says he never will. But Donna insists she wants to confront twisted Ward when he gets out of prison to try to come to terms with her past.
"It will be heartbreaking to look into his eyes as he'll know that I've been told about the rape. But Iwon't be able to put my mind at rest until I I confront him about it."
And she revealed how another brother, also Martin Ward, was arrested for the murder of pregnant mum Janet Johnson seven years ago.
Martin, now 28, admitted sleeping with the woman on the night she died - but denied killing her. He was later cleared by police.
Ladbrokes are offering even money for Shayne to win the series.
