Helen Skelton recalls 'painful' and 'mortifying' home birth of her second child

Helen Skelton has opened up about the 'painful' and 'mortifying' birth of her second child in France.

The Countryfile presenter went into labour with her youngest son Louis when her rugby player husband Ritche Myler was away from the family's home, located in a remote seaside town near the Spanish border.

'Richie was playing a match in England when I realised I had gone into labour. I got home and rang him straight away, and he said he'd call someone to come and help me,' she told the Daily Mail.

'I thought if I had a hot bath it would slow down the labour but it didn't - I could feel the baby coming.'

Helen, 34, went on to recount the dramatic way the events unfolded, revealing that her first-born Ernie was there to witness the situation.

'I climbed out of the bath and crawled naked to the front door to unlock it so that the ambulance crew could get in,' she confessed.

'But Ernie started hitting me with a Ninja Turtles sword, thinking I was playing a game - until Louis's head appeared and then he completely freaked out.'

The 34-year-old then spoke candidly about the delivery of her baby by the quick-thinking partner of one of Ritchie's friends.

'I was panicking inside but trying to keep Ernie calm at the same time. Fortunately, two lovely girls called Jill and Erica – the wives of two of Richie's team-mates – arrived at the same time as two French firemen. The men just stood there looking stunned while Jill calmly delivered the baby,' she continued.

'A paramedic arrived shortly after Louis was delivered and I was taken to hospital wrapped in a fire blanket. My experience was painful, mortifying – and absolutely amazing.'

Helen, known for co-presenting BBC children's programme Blue Peter from 2008 until 2013, married English professional rugby league footballer Richie in December 2013.