Adoption changed our lives; EXCLUSIVE: As part of National Adoption Week, we speak to five famous faces whose lives have been shaped by adoption in different ways...

Byline: Claire O'Boyle

"It's about the child, not your desire to be a parent"

Singer and X Factor star Sinitta adopted Magdalena, four, and three-year-old Zac after struggling to conceive with estranged husband Andy Willner. The couple split soon afterwards and the kids live mainly with Sinitta, 41.

I always knew I wanted to be a mum. And when I married Andy, who already had two kids, we said we'd have one naturally and adopt a second child. But it was a terrible struggle. I lost several babies, three attempts with IVF failed and we even tried a surrogate mother who lost twins.

The adoption process is very thorough,and they are quick to get rid of any romantic ideas you have. They make it really clear this is about the child, not your desire to be a parent.

The whole process can take slightly more than a normal pregnancy or up to two years. To finally be approved is an amazing feeling. By this time, they already had an idea of a child for us, our daughter Magdalena. Then we heard her mother had since had a little boy. We soon had little Magdalena and Zac in our family. They are so sweet and loving and funny.

I would say to anyone out there struggling to have a child, they should really consider adopting. These kids do not feel like a substitute, there's nothing secondary about my relationship with them. They are the loves of my life.

"They said they'de picked us because we were special"

Celebrity hair stylist and Daily Mirror columnist Andrew Barton, 43, has known he was adopted all his life.

I was adopted as a three-month-old baby. My mum and dad adopted my little brother Simon 18 months later and,after eight years, they had their own miracle baby, my sister Susan.

I've never seen being adopted as anything other than the natural course of my life. Mum and dad have always been my real parents, and I've never been interested in meeting my 'biological' mother - she's not my mum.

My parents sat me and Simon down when we were five or six to tell us we were adopted. They explained it brilliantly and said they had picked us because we were special. Tragically my dad died when I was 15. He had a heart attack at work when he was just 43, the same age I am now.

It's strange to imagine what my life would be like if they hadn't adopted me. From what I know about my birth mother, she was very young, and she's not my family in any way I understand. My family are the people I've shared experiences with and my siblings are the kids I played with growing up.

Of course, children could be cruel when we were little, saying "they're not your real mummy and daddy" and horrible things like that. But it didn't bother us because we understood how happy our family was.

"Little Lucia jumped straight into our hearts"

After six miscarriages and four failed attempts at IVF, Altered Images star Clare Grogan, 46, decided to adopt. And as soon as she set eyes on beloved daughter Lucia, she knew it was the best decision of her life...

As I focused on my career in my 20s, I took it for granted I'd be a mum some time in the future. So when I lost baby after baby, it was horrible. I could conceive, but I couldn't carry a pregnancy through. I tried IVF. It went on for 10 years. Then my decision to adopt came like an epiphany.

From then, it was two years until we finally brought Lucia home. It's not easy. You have to open yourself up to people you don't know, examining your life to see if you're fit to be a parent.

My husband Steve made the biggest sacrifice. He was living in America and his career was really taking of, but us living together gave us a better chance so he moved back to the UK. When we were finally approved, I cried with joy.

Meeting Lucia the first time was terrifying. But she jumped straight in to our hearts. And it was as if she wanted to make it easy for us from the very first night. She slept right through,while we sat up all night waiting for her to stir.

CLARE IS CURRENTLY STARRING IN LOBSTER AND VANTASTIC AT THE OVAL HOUSE THEATRE, LONDON

"Meeting our birth mum was very emotional"

Heart radio presenter Toby Anstis, 38, was adopted with his twin sister Kate at just six weeks old. He has met both his natural parents.

Thankfully, Kate and I were kept together. It doesn't bear thinking about how it would have been if we'd been split up.

Our parents were always open about us being adopted, although it didn't really register with us until we were 12 or 13 and we became more curious.

We always liked that we were adopted because we knew we were chosen, and that's a nice feeling. Although of course, like all adopted kids, we struggled with feelings of abandonment too.

Our parents, Ray and Janet, are amazing. They've always been really supportive and they helped us look into our family history when we were still young.

We met our birth mum 14 years ago. It was very emotional. Then we met my birth dad and it was so weird to see how alike we looked.

Many of the kids who need homes now are older and have been through so much more than Kate and I had. They've been in and out of care homes and foster homes. But adopting is such an incredible thing to do. I can't imagine what our lives would have been like if mum and dad hadn't adopted us.

TOBY PRESENTS THE MID-MORNING SHOW AROUND THE UK ON THE HEART NETWORK BETWEEN 10AM AND 1PM

"Being adopted was like winning the lottery"

Journalist and swing musician Nicky Campbell, 48, was adopted by Scottish parents as a baby. He later discovered his biological parents were Irish.

Mum and Dad already had a little girl when they adopted me, my big sister Fiona. But they decided to adopt after my mum Sheila suffered a number of miscarriages. She always says when she went into the nursing home to collect me, she saw a little baby smiling up at her. She asked if she could take that baby too, but the smiling baby turned out to be me.

The day I was adopted was like winning the lottery.My parents were a treasure trove of love and warmth and I had such a fantastic childhood with them. I always knew I was adopted, but growing up I think I was quite ashamed. I didn't tell my friends until I was 16.

I found my birth mum back in the 80s when my first marriage was breaking up, and I looked for my father when my first daughter was born. She had blue eyes, and I'd always been aware thatI was the only one in my family with blue eyes.

I was suddenly curious about where they'd come from. It was so interesting to find out all about the Irish side of my family.

NICKY'S ALBUM WITH HOLBY CITY ACTOR MARK MORAGHAN, MOONLIGHT'S BACK IN STYLE, IS OUT NOW.

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FAMILY: Sinitta with Magdalena, four, and three-year-old Zac