The parents of missing Matthew Green say they have been given new hope of finding their son after their search featured on a national television programme.

Jim and Pauline Green were contacted by the charity Missing People to ask if they wanted to take part in the show Missing Without a Trace, hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky.

Matthew was 26 when he was last seen at the family home in Rock Road, Sittingbourne, at 8pm on April 8, 2010.

He told his parents he was going to stay with a friend in London for the weekend. When he did not return, his disappearance was reported to police.

In June, three Sittingbourne expats in New Zealand claimed to have spotted him twice at an Auckland shopping centre and at Howick beach, but neither led to a positive identification.

The presenter and camera crew visited the couple’s home in August to carry out interviews. The show was aired on ITV at 9pm on Tuesday last week and watched by 2.55 million people.

Former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas was given access to Matt’s bedroom, where he found scraps of paper on which the self-employed roofer had written notes, including details of a recruitment company in Australia which finds apprentices for builders. The couple claim the discovery was news to them.

Mrs Green, 60, said: “Kent Police did not pick up that information at the initial stages.

“Of course it gives us hope, and he is alive and always will be until I am shown 100% differently. Yes, he may have chosen to go missing and doesn’t want to be found. But I need to know he is OK and will never stop trying to find him.

“Missing People have been inundated with calls, but a lot of these were well-wishers.

“No one from Australia has been in touch. Although in June, when the alleged sightings were going on in New Zealand, I did receive a message about a place called Galston Gorge in Australia which is used by campers, travellers, backpackers and the like. Also people go there and do fruit picking for cash-in-hand jobs.

“This is now being looked into – it wasn’t at the time because everyone was concentrating on New Zealand.”

A Kent Police spokesman said: “We assisted producers on the programme and will be following up enquiries should any new information come to light.”

Anyone with any information about Matthew’s whereabouts is asked to call the Missing People helpline on 116 000.