'IT'S A REAL STRUGGLE HAVING ONE ARM AND A NEWBORN'

As actress Melissa Johns introduces baby Ottilly, she opens up about the challenges and triumphs of being a new mum

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Melissa Johns seems utterly besotted as she and husband Dan Hampton introduce us to their adorable new baby daughter.

Beaming from ear to ear as she cradles little Ottilly, who was born on 29 October, the Grantchester actress looks a world away from her sassy character Miss Scott. It's clear that Melissa, 35, is loving being in the “baby bubble”.

The couple, who tied the knot at 14th-century Brinsop Court Manor House in 2024, are so proud to show off their baby girl, but say the timing of her arrival was quite a shock.

At their 36-week scan, the couple were given some worrying news. “We were told that the baby was starting to plateau in her growth, and that if we tried to go to 40 weeks, the risk [could be] fatal,” she tells us, as she cuddles Ottilly in her lap.

“They mentioned that word — fatal. It’s not a word any mum wants to hear. They advised us that she needed to come out at 37 weeks and I just panicked. I said, ‘I can’t do that, that's next week,’ but they insisted,” she explains. “In my head, I had another four weeks.”

And though It wasn’t quite the birth that Melissa had imagined, she says it was still just as magical.

With her midwife and doula in the room, and Dan by her side, Melissa welcomed her baby girl via C-section, weighing 5lb 10oz, to the sound of calm meditation music. (Not the Spice Girls or Rod Stewart, which were her initial choices!)

Because Ottilly was earlier than expected, the pair spent five days in hospital where the team supported Melissa, including helping her to find the most comfortable positions to breastfeed with one arm, because Melissa was born without her right forearm and hand. But nothing could top the special moment when they were finally able to bring their little girl back home, says Melissa.