Dick and Angel Strawbridge admit ‘timing was bad’ as they introduce children to new baby

Dick and Angel Strawbridge have confessed the “timing was bad” after experiencing an unfortunate moment when they introduced their children to a new family member. The Escape to the Chateau stars recently took son Arthur, 11, and 10-year-old daughter Dorothy to meet Heidi, the couple’s great-niece.

And while young Dorothy may have been looking forward to the moment, Arthur was a little more apprehensive. On their Escape to the Chat..eau podcast, the couple revealed they had a quick exit from Stockton-on-Tees during their stage tour so they could go and see baby Heidi.

But despite initially feeling nervous, the couple said Dorothy soon adjusted to meeting the baby. Angel explained: “This was a real first for her to have a baby in her life that she has a connection with.

“And as we were driving 10 or 15 minutes, she says all of a sudden, ‘I’m really nervous about holding Heidi, meeting Heidi’ and I could see it in her face. So we said nerves and excitement sit back-to-back on the emotional scale. You’re excited, just love every minute of it.”

Dick added: “The moment Heidi started to wake up, I was a bit naughty and said, ‘shall I take Heidi and have a little hold of her?’ and both mummy (Sarah) and Dorothy were saying, ‘no, no’. So Dorothy got to hold Heidi and, literally, I thought she wasn’t going to put her down. She spent the whole duration just carrying Heidi around, enjoying being with her.

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“As a 10-year-old, Dorothy took it very seriously, the way she held Heidi and was looking after her. She was asking all of the questions to make sure she did it right.”

Angel explained Dorothy “instinctively” knew that he had to hold up Heidi’s head. Dick, however, joked the family were concerned that son Arthur, 11, “wouldn’t realise she wasn’t a rugby ball”.

Angel remarked: “It was adorable, and you could see he wanted to have that connection with Heidi, and he did, but I think the timing was just bad on the first one.” Dick added: “Because Heidi cried.”

Dick explained his own father would have an “obligatory” picture with a grandchild when they were “floppy”. But when they could walk, he would spend hours with the youngsters.

The TV star added: “I had to explain that to Arthur, so he realised, not all blokes understand floppiness and floppy heads.

"But when it came to David and I, he had four girls and we’ve got the kids so we’re much more comfortable. And Arthur was watching all the time because you have to see how people behave with babies to know what to do.”

Angel concluded that Arthur did eventually feel more comfortable with holding the baby after she fell asleep. It prompted her to praise the children’s differences with Arthur keen on selling jam, and Dorothy showing more maternal instincts and buying a present for the baby.