The imminent arrival of a bouncing baby is always cause for celebration so when Five newsreader Helen Fospero invited OK! to her baby shower at Cupcake spa in London we jumped at the chance. Helen was delighted with all the goodies that her friends – including Penny Smith and Lizzie Cundy - showered her with. But there weren’t just treats for the mum-to-be, as guests gorged themselves on cakes and enjoyed indulgent spa treatments.
The pink sofa at Five News must be something of a fertility charm. So far, newsreaders Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Gerbeau and now Helen have fallen pregnant very soon after reading their first news bulletins from the hot seat!
We caught up with Helen who told us all about her pregnancy, why she’s in no rush to lose the baby weight, and how 9/11 brought her and husband Carl together....
So, Helen, with nine weeks to go, how are you feeling?
I feel great. Some days I even forget I’m pregnant! But I do have a ridiculous-sized bump. When I meet people on the street they think I’m immediately going to go into labour! I’ve been very blessed. I’m just excited now.
One of the Supremes accidentally announced your pregnancy on air....
Yes. I’ve been presenting Five’s lunchtime news for the last few months while my friend Kate Gerbeau is on maternity leave. I was interviewing Mary Wilson from the Supremes and we were chatting beforehand, and she guessed I was pregnant. She obviously didn’t realise I hadn’t told many people because at the end of the live interview she reached over, patted my tummy and congratulated me on air, much to the amazement of the studio team!
You have a five year old girl, Francesca. Is she looking forward to the new arrival?
She’s giddy with excitement! With the age she’s at I think she’ll be very maternal towards the baby. At bedtime there’s a little anxiety about whether we’ll love her as much, whether we’ll love the baby more. It’s been the three of us for such a long time, but that’s balanced out with the excitement.
You’ve decided not to find out the sex...
In many ways it would have been a lot more practical, but it was so nice last time because you go through all the effort and hard work of labour that it’s nice to have that little surprise at the end.
Will you feel under pressure to lose your baby weight after giving birth?
I think it’s quite sad when people are obsessed with being ultra slim again. There’s too much pressure on women to lose the weight - the focus should be on enjoying your beautiful baby. You won’t catch me in the gym doing a ridiculous amount of exercise to try to be a skinny Minnie!
How did you meet Carl, your husband?
I was asked to go to New York for six months, to cover the Bush/Gore election for GMTV. On my first week I met Carl, who was doing some freelance producing for GMTV. We hit it off like a house on fire, but there wasn’t any romance straight away. Carl and I witnessed the Towers come down on September 11th. We just sobbed – Carl is a New Yorker, it’s his country and his city. I think that was the defining moment in our relationship, watching how he handled everything over the following months, how kind and considerate he is.
You’ve also recently set up an online members’ club, mhoula.com ......
That’s right! I’m a founder patron of The Nicholls’ Spinal Injury Foundation and I’d been thinking of a way to help raise more money for research into a cure for some forms of spinal injury. So that was one of the driving forces behind starting mhoula.com with two friends – we donate 10 per cent of all subscriptions to the Foundation.
Credits:
With thanks to Cupcake for hosting the event, www.cupcakemum.com; Mimi’s for the food, www.mimiscatering.co.uk; Laura Kuy for the flowers; and Blossom Mother and Child for Helen’s top. Makeup by Julia Bolino @ www.slap.uk.com.
Interview by Elizabeth Curran. Photographs by Abi Wyles.