This Morning star admits they had ‘dark thoughts’ about being replaced
This Morning presenter Sian Welby has opened up about her decision to return to work shortly after giving birth to her first child, revealing she was driven by the fear of being replaced.
After announcing the arrival of her daughter Ruby with fiance Jake Beckett last summer, Sian was back on the ITV show alongside Craig Doyle just two months later.
The 38-year-old has now shared that she took the short maternity leave from her TV and Capital FM hosting commitments, admitting she felt nervous about taking an extended break from work. In an interview with The Sun, Welby confessed: “I worried I would be off for a month and they would decide someone else is better and then they would replace me. Those are the dark thoughts you have.”
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Her concerns about being replaced had previously made her hesitant to consider having children, thinking, “How could I?” She acknowledged that many women in the TV industry share similar concerns about taking time off for maternity leave, especially after working hard to establish their careers.
She ultimately took two months off, which, although not a long time, was the longest break she had ever taken from work, and she made the most of it. Sian initially returned to This Morning via video link just days after giving birth via emergency C-section, appearing on the show with presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley while feeling "delirious".
''I'm tired, I'm delirious, but it is the best thing I've ever done, and I'm just absolutely over the moon, I'm in love. I'm loving every second, despite it being absolute carnage,” she expressed.
“You can't believe that you're meeting them. Jake was filming me at the time when I held her, and I said, ‘I can't believe I'm meeting you, it feels like a dream.’”
Sian revealed that the birth of her daughter didn't go as initially planned, as she had been preparing for a water birth.
“But then it boils down to what's the safest way. In the end, I did have an emergency C-section, but I felt so safe. I was in amazing hands,” she disclosed.
“The midwives are just incredible. Any midwife watching now, you are a different breed of human, I just want to thank you.”
In August, Sian made her return to the ITV studio for This Morning, bringing along Ruby for her first day at work.
She commented: “Little Ruby, oh it's so sweet to have her with me today because I was quite nervous about leaving her, do you know what I mean?”
After the episode aired, the TV star took to her Instagram Stories, writing: “Today was so special having @jakebeckett92 and Ruby on my first day back at work. Thanks for all the lovely messages of support it means a lot.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITVX
