Enduring Love

Alan Dein crosses the world via Facebook and Skype, hearing the real life dramas of random strangers. In this first programme of the new series, Alan discovers some moving stories of couples under pressure. Alan builds up a relationship with Hank and Norma in Arkansas, USA following them over the course of a difficult year as harp-playing Hank draws on his own near-death experience to deal with Norma's breast cancer. As Hank puts it: "I worked hard to survive, and I deserve my companion in life..." Alan also tracks the fortunes of a young couple in love, trying to make a go of it despite the fact one lives in southern Italy and the other in Slovakia. Plus a veteran of the first Gulf War - now a long distance lorry driver - recalls how he salvaged his own relationship after it faltered as a result of long absences from home.