'When I said goodbye, that was it': CON MUM's Graham Hornigold on recovering from his biological mother's deception

Con Mum's Graham Hornigold joins Sara-Jayne Makwala King for Weekend Breakfast on CapeTalk.

Con Mum on Netflix has been called 'a devastating watch'.

The true-crime documentary tells the story of how a renowned British chef's world was turned upside down when his biological mother reached out to him, and then proceeded to scam her own son.

The apparent jet-setter tells Graham Hornigold she has just six months to live, which of course intensifies their eventual meeting and the relationship they start building after more than 40 years.

'Dionne' initially spoils her son and then-partner Heather Kaniuk with extravagant gifts, but then begins to leave him and his friends with large bills for all sorts of expenses.

Hornigold refers to that universal need to belong, which overrode his initial skepticism about her claim to being his mother.

"When you're asking the questions about your personal life which no one else would know, that is something you can't find on the Internet. That's when the penny drops and you think, maybe she is your mother... It was all a bit emotional."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

"I think it resonates with most people in that sense that you want to know where you're from... and when you don't have that there is always that nagging pain regardless of who you are or where you are."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

Hornigold has had to recover both emotionally and financially after discovering that this person who did turn out to be his biological mother, had contacted him simply to con him.

He did honestly like her, initially, he says with a rueful chuckle.

"She was very charismatic, convincing and lovable - but you know, milk tastes great until it turns sour."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

"I knew from Day One that she was my mum, and when you get the (DNA) results, you know they're going to be positive but at the same time you don't want to believe that you've been done like that."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

Hornigold clarifies that the £300,000 people say he lost in the scam, reduces down to £100,000 in real cash after the cars he had to eventually pay for were returned.

"Because she told you that she has six months to live... money is the last thing on your mind.  I chose to see if I could give her as much time as I could in terms of getting to know her, making sure that she was comfortable, enjoying her best life doing what she wanted to do with the time that she had left and the time that we had left."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

"We're still dealing with the ramifications of the financial loss, but we'll get there. Life goes on."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

Viewers see Hornigold saying 'bye, mum' in the doccie, and he says that farewell really meant the end of the chapter with his mother.

"That was it; I haven't spoken with her again because that 'bye' was closure for me. Everything that came out of her mouth was a lie and there was no emotion attached to her apology. That's why I don't really have time for it; so bye-bye."

Graham Hornigold, 'Con Mum'

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to this in-depth interview