Hidden

ONE REMARKABLE WOMAN

OVER 30 YEARS OF FOSTERING

CARER TO MORE THAN 150 CHILDREN

Hidden tells the story of Tayo, who arrives at Cathy’s home with only the clothes on his back. Brought to her by the police, he presents as calm, polite, and well-spoken—unlike any child she has fostered before. Despite the expected paperwork, the forms provide no history for Tayo, aside from his name and age. Tayo has no past.

Tayo is an 'invisible' child. Kidnapped from his loving father in Nigeria, he was brought illegally to the UK by his drink and drugs dependent prostitute mother and put to work in a sweatshop in Central London. Cast out after sustaining an injury, Tayo is no longer able to earn.

When Cathy takes Tayo to school, he points out a dozen different addresses where he has stayed in the last six months, often being left alone. Tayo is adept at lying and manipulating situations to his advantage, forcing Cathy to constantly remain vigilant. Despite a thorough search of all computer databases by Tayo’s social worker, there is no record of him. He has only attended school for three terms and has never seen a doctor. Tayo and his mother have been evading the authorities by living ‘underground’.

With his mother recently released from prison, Tayo is desperate to live with his father in Nigeria. However, no one can track him down, nor even prove that he exists.