Congratulations to TV presenter Helen Skelton and husband Richie Myler who welcomed a baby boy on Friday afternoon. Revealing the news exclusively to HELLO!, the little boy, who they have named Ernie, weighed 7lbs 9oz, and both mother and baby are "doing very well".
© Photo: Getty ImagesRichie and Helen in 2012
The happy couple revealed their pregnancy in February, and told HELLO! that they had decided not to find out if they were having a boy or a girl, and instead wanted to keep it a surprise.
"We know our little baby will change our lives completely, and so it should," said Helen.
Helen and Richie tied the knot in a romantic church ceremony in her native Cumbria early in 2014, and the couple revealed they found out that Helen was pregnant just a few weeks before their first wedding anniversary.
"We'd been on a driving trip to Florida in December and I didn't feel that well," Helen recalled. "We weren't drinking much but I felt like I had a hangover. We thought it was the heat and sun but a little bit of us was wondering, 'What if…?'"
Once back in their Cheshire home in a village close to Warrington – where Richie plays for the Warrington Wolves – Helen took a pregnancy test.
"Even though we suspected it, when it showed positive we were in shock. You know this is going to change your life forever."
© Photo: HELLO!The couple later shared the news with their families – and it seems they will have no shortage of willing babysitters on hand to help out with the new arrival.
"This is the first grandchild," explained Richie. "Our parents will be fighting over the baby."
The former Blue Peter presenter and Richie are famously active and they speculated about whether their child will share their love of sport.
"We've said to each other, 'What if our child hates sport? And Richie was like, 'It doesn't matter if out child isn't sporty, they can be whatever they want to be. If it's into dance and ballet instead then that's fine.'
"Then we both cracked up laughing and said, 'But I bet it will have more footballs, tennis balls and rugby balls than any other kid in the country.'"
