GMTV sofa queen and Daily Echo columnist Fiona Phillips spoke of her overwhelming joy this morning following the birth of her new baby boy.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Echo from her London home after leaving the Chelsea and London Hospital over the bank holiday, Fiona told of the new addition to her family, baby Nathaniel - all 9lb 3ozs of him.

She said that despite worrying for nine months how she would feel "when the time came'' it was the most natural and wonderful thing that has ever happened to her.

"He is just wonderful. I love him so much it feels like he's been around forever. I've taken to motherhood like a dream,'' she said.

"I wasn't relishing the thought of the birth and I was scared stiff how I'd feel when the baby actually arrived, but today, looking back, all of those anxieties have disappeared. I can't even remember why I was worried.

"The funny thing is when my waters broke early on Friday morning the first thing I said to Martin was 'I haven't filed my column, I can't let the Daily Echo readers down'. He told me to shut up and concentrate on the job at hand - having his child.

"During the labour I honestly never thought I could feel such pain but now, although it sounds a clich, I can't even remember it, it's so weird. "I'm still walking a bit like John Wayne at the moment, it's hilarious. I'm told that will pass soon. In fact, Nathaniel looks like a cross between John Wayne and a hedgehog at the moment, bless him, but I'm assured he'll grow into his looks.

"The first thing I thought when I saw him was how ugly he was. We've been jokingly calling him Chairman because there is an uncanny resemblance to Chairman Mao!

"The labour was only about seven-and-a-half to eight hours which is good for a first birth. It was a natural birth, despite being 11 days overdue, I wasn't induced.

"When they handed him to us Martin and I just cried, it was an overwhelming feeling. We'd had John Barry's new CD The Beyondness of Things playing during the labour and when Martin and I came home we played it again and burst into tears.

"I love this mother feeling, in fact, the way I feel at the moment I don't want to go back to GMTV in September.

"The name Nathaniel came from my GMTV colleague Penny Smith. We were talking one day before I left about names and she said she liked the name Nathaniel.

Then I met a gorgeous actor, Nathaniel Parker, who told me he loved his name, that it was classical but Nat, the shortened version, was a lovely name. I think that is what he'll be known as, although my mum and Martin aren't sure.

"I've been thinking about his middle name, and - Martin doesn't know this yet - our midwife was Louise and she was so fantastic I think his middle name will be Louis. Martin wanted to call him Hamish, thankfully I won.

"I just can't tell you how wonderful I feel. It's amazing how little babies change people.

Read more from Fiona in Wednesday's Daily Echo and in her column in The Magazine this Saturday.

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