TV presenter Charlotte Hawkins has described the “moving” moment she first set eyes on her baby daughter Ella Rose.

The Good Morning Britain host said the arrival of her daughter had helped the family overcome the recent death of her father, Frank, who suffered from motor neurone disease.

She told Hello! magazine: “It would have been lovely if he’d been able to see Ella Rose, but the main thing was being able to tell him that we were having a baby because we’d been trying for such a long time. He was so thrilled – he had a tear in his eye.

“And he is still here as far as I’m concerned.

“He’ll be a part of her life and she will hear all about him. He’s not forgotten. He is here every day and always will be.”

The presenter, who posed for pictures with her husband Mark Herbert and their daughter, said the birth was “still a bit of a blur”.

She said: “We both had tears in our eyes when they placed Ella Rose on my chest after the birth. Nothing prepares you for that feeling. All of a sudden, this tiny being that you’ve been carrying around for nine months is there with you. It’s a very moving experience.

Charlotte shows off her bump (Doug Peters/EMPICS)
Charlotte shows off her bump (Doug Peters/EMPICS)

“From our point of view, she was a miracle baby, one that we had wanted for such a long time.”

She said she hoped her regular early mornings for work would help her deal with the lack of sleep parenthood brings, saying: “I’ve been getting up in the middle of the night for the past eight years, so I’m at an advantage.

“I’m used to having to function on just four hours’ sleep a night and grabbing catnaps where I can. It’s quite good preparation for having a baby. That’s the theory, anyway.”

:: Read the full interview in Hello! magazine, out now.