Strictly’s Helen Skelton reveals she gave birth alone before split from husband

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Helen Skelton has revealed she gave birth alone before splitting from her husband Richie Myler.

The Countryfile presenter - who is mum to three children, Ernie, seven, Louis, five, and Elsie, eleven months - admitted that her rugby star ex wasn't there for the birth of their second baby.

Helen, 39, who is currently taking part in Strictly alongside professional dancer Gorka Marquez, welcomed Louis on her own.

The TV presenter gave birth to her second son while alone in France with her eldest son, with Richie, 32, at home in England.

Helen revealed how she gave birth on the kitchen floor surrounded by "French firemen" when health professionals failed to reach her.

Lorraine Kelly quizzed the star on her ITV show last year, saying: "Your son Louis, he was born unexpectedly when you were in France, on the kitchen floor for goodness’s sake!"

Helen opened up about the birth: "I know, God bless him. I can't tell if he was sort of proud or embarrassed.

"He says, 'I was born in the kitchen?' and I'm like 'Yeah,' and lots of my friends think it's so lovely, a home birth.

"Nobody wants a load of gorgeous French firemen at their feet while they're delivering a baby, which is what I had.

"They'd never done that before and were so excited, I just said, 'Get back around my head please'."

Helen also admitted that her third pregnancy, with baby daughter Elsie, had been the hardest as it "got harder as she got older".

"I'm a little bit older, I've got the kids and I'm working. Now I'm like, 'Oh, has anyone got a chair for me, has anyone got a chocolate for me?' I'm really rinsing it, you know. It's my last one so I've got to make the most of it," she said.

It comes after Helen opened up about the end of her eight-year marriage - with her husband setting up home with a new woman.

The Strictly Come Dancing favourite believes the show has acted as ­“therapy”, getting her through the end of her marriage to rugby player Richie Myler.

“I came into this show quite battle-hardened," she told The Sun.

“Strictly is probably quite overwhelming for a lot of people but for me, weirdly, I was actually in the best place to be in it.

“Other people were worried about all the attention that comes with being on Strictly, or baring their souls on the telly, whereas I was ready for that.

“I love that we talk about mental health more now, but I’d love that we could talk about how people can address their mental health.

“I’ve always seen my brain as being like a muscle — one which I need to exercise to keep my head in check.

“So that’s what Strictly is doing for me, it really is. It’s the most brilliant, all-consuming thing to be a part of.”

Countryfile host Helen announced her split from Richie in April — just four months after the arrival of the couple’s first daughter, Elsie.

It subsequently emerged he had embarked on a new relationship with Stephanie Thirkill, the daughter of the multi-millionaire President of the Leeds Rhinos club he plays for.