Traitors' Charlotte Chilton at home - star introduces baby Penelope she shares with popstar Conor Maynard

With her distinctive red lippy, jet-black curls and undeniable charisma, Charlotte Chilton was one of the breakout stars of The Traitors when it aired this January. But fast-forward less than a year since her scenes were shown and the gorgeous 33-year-old has swapped round tables for changing tables, having welcomed her daughter Penelope last month.

The first-time mum – who has publicly claimed Penelope’s father is singer Conor Maynard, who she has alleged is not involved with the baby – is introducing her darling daughter to the world with our exclusive shoot at her home. And we’re pleased to report that Charlotte is taking motherhood in her stride, despite a tricky pregnancy and a stressful first few weeks.

“I hated being pregnant,” she tells us, as she effortlessly clutches a mug of tea in one hand and little Penelope in the other. “I loved the baby inside me, but everything else was s**t. I remember thinking, ‘This is vile. Women lie to women and say, It’s magical. There’s nothing magical about this.’ I was really, really negative, but I did have SPD [Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, which causes severe pelvic pain during pregnancy], gestational diabetes, I had an allergy to my hormones. I had everything, so I was constantly in and out of the hospital. I couldn’t do much for myself. I had to stop working for the last three months. And I didn’t have a baby daddy there to help. It was really hard.”

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Labour also had its challenges “When I thought I was about 4cm dilated, the doctors told me Penelope’s heart rate was dropping and they were going to have to give me an emergency C-section to get her out,” recalls Charlotte. “It turns out I was nearer to 9cm. I pushed so hard, she actually flew out of me – I needed a fair few stitches afterwards!”

Penelope was born at 3.53pm on 13 October, weighing 6lb 7oz. Her besotted mother chose the middle name, Royella, after her beloved grandad Roy. Penelope and Charlotte will share Charlotte’s maiden name Thornett, once Charlotte’s divorce from her ex-wife Laura Chilton is finalised.

“It’s incredible how it changes your life,” she gushes as she stares sweetly at her little girl. “But it was difficult at first. The postpartum anxiety, which I didn’t know was a thing, was so high at the start. For the first couple of weeks everything would make me feel so panicked. Thank goodness I’ve got amazing family and friends around me. My ex-wife has been so supportive, always telling me what a good job I’m doing.

"We went through a real ‘hate’ phase when I first got pregnant but we’re friends again now and she’s been great. And my mum, well, she’s basically taken on the role of the father. She’ll get the bottles sterilised for me, she’ll take the baby when I need it, she’ll make sure I eat dinner, because it’s so easy to get through the day without eating anything. It’s the best diet in the world, looking after a newborn. The weight has come off me.”

Charlotte has moved in with her parents in their large house in Warwickshire, while she saves up to afford her own place. And it’s a situation that currently suits her down to the ground, given that she’s caring for her new baby and is also in the process of launching her own recruitment business.

“I love it. We’re such a close family, it’s not like I’m ‘moving back in’, it feels very grown-up and natural, and their help is invaluable,” she says. “And I don’t feel like I’m missing out – people are always coming here and seeing the baby. Everyone’s so proud of me for doing this alone. I’ve got a real village around me.”

Which is brilliant news, considering that Conor, who Charlotte claims is Penelope’s father, is completely off the scene. When asked if Conor even knows he has a new daughter, Charlotte’s demeanour changes. Her shoulders appear to stiffen and she goes from soft, new mum to feisty warrior in fight mode.

“He knows. I’ve not heard anything,” she claims. “I had real torment over whether to contact him when she was here or not. And I figured I don’t want to speak to him, but he has a right to know. I knew if I didn’t reach out people would say I hadn’t bothered. But if I did contact him, it’d look like I’m hassling him. I thought the best thing to do would be to contact his representatives. And that’s what we did. I said, ‘Look, she’s here.’ He has a right to know.”

Charlotte met Conor while she was on a night out with The Traitors winner Harry Clark, who dates Conor’s sister, Anna. Charlotte claims they hit it off straight away and enjoyed a brief relationship but once she found out she was pregnant, she claims Conor wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. She also claims Harry cut off all contact with her.

“That was a real kick in the teeth,” she says, sadly. “The guy stopped speaking to me practically the second I told Conor I was pregnant. I guess the ‘bro code’ kicked in. And we all know, thanks to the show, that he has a ‘bro code’. [Traitor Harry famously tricked besotted co-star Mollie Pearce into believing he was a Faithful.] I was gutted. Harry and I were inseparable, he was the reason I met Conor in the first place, but obviously, now I’ve got Penelope, I’m grateful.”

“There have been days where I’ve been in tears because I’m sitting here thinking, ‘I’ve got a daughter that looks f**king identical to you,’” she says. “She’s got his eyes, his hair, his facial expressions.” So, does she want Conor in Penelope’s life? “If she wants to walk away from him, that’s fine, but she needs to make that decision for herself when she’s older,” says Charlotte. “I’m not going to deny her contact if he decides he wants to see her.”

Charlotte says she’s been subjected to merciless trolling from Conor’s die-hard fans, including one who contacted her days before she gave birth, telling her, “I hope you and your baby die.” “I’ve got really thick skin, so trolls are wasting their time on me, but my God some are deranged,” she says. “And why is me having his baby my fault? I am sick of women taking the blame for everything.

“Because I stood up to a guy like Conor, trolls have assumed I must want his money or I forced him, or I trapped him. That’s my favourite one. ‘Trapped him’. I was like, hmmm, okay, so I planned, after infertility for five years and multiple miscarriages, to get pregnant. I even managed to make myself ovulate at that time with a guy that I did not plan to be with! Obviously!”

She’s joking, of course, and Charlotte laughs but the pain in her voice is obvious. Having tried for years to have a baby with her ex-wife Laura, to fall pregnant so unexpectedly following their break-up was a miracle. And it’s one that she doesn’t take for granted. “She’s just wonderful,” she says, gazing at Penelope. “When I’m not with her, I feel like my arm has been chopped off. It’s a huge adjustment, but I’m so in love.”

Meanwhile, Charlotte’s fellow Traitors co-stars have been in touch to offer their congratulations, including Diane Carson and Charlie Bees. “They’re all so excited for me,” says Charlotte, before adding that she “can’t wait” for the new celebrity series, due to air next year. “I’ve read that Courteney Cox is interested, which would be amazing. I personally would love to see Rylan on there, or even one of the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race,” she tells us.

Charlotte says she adored her time filming the show and even lets us in on a few behind-the-scenes secrets. “We stayed in a hotel down the road from the castle.

I don’t know if everyone else did, but I got a suite, with a seating area and everything,” she says. “But you all come and go separately. You’re all blindfolded, you’ve got security guards outside your room. It would be impossible to sneak in or out. You do get video messages from family sent to you via your contact person, but that’s about it.”

And when it comes to host Claudia Winkleman, Charlotte has nothing but praise. “Oh, she’s such an empath,” she gushes. “She is so proud of you when you do well. She was trying to sneak me a Twix to say well done when I’d done that awful Airbnb challenge. I remember her saying, ‘I just want to give you a big squeeze!’ She’s amazing. And, actually, she’d make an incredible contestant on the celebrity version, because she knows so much about how it all works. She’d smash it – but then who on earth would host?”

Since Charlotte applied for the hit reality show “when I was drunk on Christmas Day”, she’s discovered a new love for appearing on TV and hopes to do more work on our screens in the future, while juggling it with her recruitment business. Could a dating show be on the cards perhaps, now that she’s single again?

“Well, I do have to get back out there,” she laughs. “I love being in love. It’s my favourite thing in the world. But I have no idea where to begin. Thankfully, I don’t feel I need someone right now as I have Penelope, I’m so content just cuddling her. There’s no love like it.”

We have contacted representatives for Conor and Harry for comment.