Billie Piper gives birth to son

Actress Billie Piper has given birth to a baby boy by an emergency Caesarean, her husband has confirmed.

Laurence Fox told reporters outside the Portland Hospital in London that the couple have named the baby Winston James Fox.

He said the baby weighed 6lb 11oz and was born at 0100 BST on Tuesday.

Piper, 26, who stars in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl married Fox last December. News of the birth was first revealed by her former husband, Chris Evans.

'Beautiful and sweet'

Fox revealed his wife had been in labour for 26 hours before going to hospital.

"The emergency caesarean only took about 20 minutes," he said.

"Billie is happy. Of course she is, she's a mum. I am tired but not as tired as her - I am a proud father.

He said his new-born son was "beautiful" and "sweet".

The proud father showed reporters outside the hospital a picture of new-born Winston on his mobile phone.

There were also some smaller thumbnail pictures of a smiling Piper holding her son, but he did not show these in full.

He said they were personal "secret" photos and would not be released to the media.

The actor initially thought Piper would only be kept in overnight after the birth.

But speaking to reporters on Wednesday he revealed doctors had told them she might not be ready to go home for "five days to a week".

He added: "She had a Caesarean. It was quite a major thing wasn't it."

Visibly tired as he left the hospital to smoke, Fox said he had not changed his jeans and jumper for three days.

On the day of the birth Chris Evans told reporters outside the hospital that mother and baby were "fantastic".

The Radio 2 presenter, who is also expecting a baby with his new wife Natasha Shishmanian, said: "Mum is very happy and I am really pleased. There are some tears of joy up there."

Teenage pop star

The star also updated his blog with news of the birth.

He wrote: "At the time of this writing, the little fella is not even fifteen hours old.

"He is cute as you like and didn't cry once for the few minutes I was there which was just a few moments ago."
Piper shot to fame as a teenage pop star with her hit single Because We Want To in 1998.

She met Evans on his Channel 4 show TFI Friday in May 2000, and later revealed to the Daily Mail that she was "terrified" of their encounter.

But the couple hit it off and, six months later, travelled to Las Vegas where they married with only six friends in attendance.

Following the ceremony, the pair travelled for 18 months before returning to the UK where Piper kicked off her acting career with a role in BBC's The Canterbury Tales.

She became a household name for a second time in 2005 when she played the role of Rose Tyler in the revamped Doctor Who.

Piper married her second husband, Fox, on New Years Eve at a church in West Sussex.