Image copyright Oliver Woods/BBC Image caption Victoria Fritz (left) and Sally Nugent (right)

BBC Breakfast's business presenter Victoria Fritz went into labour after coming off air, with one of her fellow presenters acting as her birthing partner.

Presenter Sally Nugent stepped in after Fritz's husband was stuck on the motorway.

Fritz later gave birth to a baby boy at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

The baby had been due to arrive in early December but Fritz's waters broke after she came off air.

Fritz tweeted her "heartfelt thanks" for the BBC Breakfast "team effort".

Image copyright Victoria Fritz

A BBC spokeswoman said that Nugent had only intended to keep Fritz company while waiting for her husband, who was stuck in traffic on the M6.

"When Sally heard that she'd gone into labour she offered to be there until Victoria's husband got there. But her husband never arrived so she found herself at the birth."

Image copyright Twitter/ BBC Breakfast

Nugent tweeted: "You won't believe what happened after work yesterday. Huge congrats to our very clever @VFritzNews."

"It's going to be a brilliant story for his 21st birthday! What an incredible day."

A picture of mother and baby was put on BBC Breakfast's Facebook page with the headline "Breaking Breakfast Baby News!"

Image caption Victoria Fritz on air shortly before she went into labour

"24 hours ago Victoria was presenting our business news - today she has some rather more important news to deliver!

"He was in a bit of a rush to greet the world and arrived a few weeks early so he doesn't have a name yet but both mother and baby are doing well."

Many viewers were surprised at the news because she did not look heavily pregnant when she was presenting the business segment.

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