Helen Skelton shares heartbreaking story behind her baby girl's middle name

Helen Skelton welcomed her third child, daughter Elsie Kate, on 28 December with her rugby player husband Richie Myler, taking their family to a total of five!

MORE: Helen Skelton's dramatic birth story with new baby Elsie - exclusive

We adore her baby girl's sweet name, which Countryfile host Helen told us all about in our exclusive interview. The star, who was already out and about walking the Yorkshire hills with Elsie at just three days old, revealed that the newborn's middle name has a special meaning for her family.

WATCH: At home with Helen Skelton

Helen tells HELLO!: "We were always going to have Kate as a middle name after my cousin, who sadly passed away when we were in our 20s. I was really close to her; she was a scientist and crazy cool." What a lovely tribute to her late cousin.

As for her daughter's first name, it seems Elsie's big brothers, Ernie, six, and Louis, four, had their say in the choice.

"The boys loved the name Elsie as it has an E and an L at the beginning," says Helen. "Mind you, if the baby had been a boy, Louis wanted to call it Wolverine. We said: 'Okay, we’ll put it on the list!'"

Helen with her baby girl Elsie

Helen also tells that they had no preference over the sex of their third child despite people assuming they wanted a girl. "But it wasn’t like that for us," she explains. "We just wanted more children and we wanted the surprise."

Even though they decided not to find out, Helen was so sure she was having a daughter that she painted the nursery pink.

MORE: 10 cutest photos of Helen Skelton's three children

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Helen with her three children at home

"I was convinced I was having a girl," says Helen, as she suffered from pregnancy sickness. "And now I am totally embracing the pink. With a rugby player and two feral boys, my world is testosterone-filled enough."

She adds that Richie is over the moon to be a girl-dad, revealing: "He is buzzing. All his mates have said to him how daughters are always daddy's little girls. He had been on tenterhooks for about a month. All the way through November, he was convinced I'd have her early. Every time I called him, he would say: 'Are you in labour?'"

Now their daughter is here, the family can relax – except relaxing for Helen and Richie involves a house renovation which they are currently in the throes of. It's a fun year ahead for them!

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