Skip to content

Actor Vauxhall Jermaine appeals for help to find 1980s foster mother

Getty Images Vauxhall JermaineGetty Images
Vauxhall Jermaine's appeal has been retweeted thousands of times

An actor is appealing for the public's help to find a woman who fostered him in the 1980s.

Vauxhall Jermaine posted a tweet searching for a woman called Terri Sleightholme, who lived in Bobbers Mill, Nottingham.

Mr Jermaine was inspired to use social media after a former child refugee traced a stranger through Twitter who bought her a bike when she was five.

Nottingham City Council said it had no details of the carer in their records.

'So amazing'

Mr Jermaine's tweet, which was posted on Wednesday, has been retweeted thousands of times.

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read  and  before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

Mr Jermaine - who has appeared in the James Corden animation of Peter Rabbit, TV mini-series This is England '90 and, more recently, Channel 4 show The Virtues - said he had contacted Nottingham social services previously to try to find her - but has not succeeded.

He said: "Throughout the years I would remember her. What I remember is she made me feel really welcome.

"It was the closest thing I had experienced to mother-son love.

"She obviously had a major impact on me. She is my earliest memory."

Charmaine Grant Vauxhall JermaineCharmaine Grant
Jermaine said the foster mother is his "earliest memory"

Mr Jermaine said his file stated he lived with five or six other families but Ms Sleightholme is the only one he can remember.

"It is kind of vague," he said. "I just remember growing up and every time I thought about her, the feeling was genuinely a warm feeling."

Mr Jermaine said his latest appeal was sparked while he was filming The Virtues.

"I ended up working on a TV drama [about] aspects of living in a care home," he said. "Since the show came out it has been on my mind. I thought now would be a good time to try again.

"It would be so amazing if I got to meet her."

line break

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].