New mum Billie staying in hospital

5:13pm Saturday 25th October 2008

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New mother Billie Piper may have to spend another seven days in hospital, her husband said.

The actress, 26, gave birth to a son by emergency Caesarean at 1am on Tuesday after a 26-hour labour.

Her husband, actor Laurence Fox, said the mother and baby were "good".

But speaking outside the private Portland Hospital in central London, he added: "She had a Caesarean. It was quite a major thing wasn't it."

He said doctors told the couple she might not be ready to go home for "five days to a week".

The couple named their newborn son, weighing 6lb 11oz, Winston James. Fox said: "It's a good name, isn't it?"

Winston, the name of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, derives from an expression meaning "joyful stone". Both Churchill and Fox, who belongs to an acting dynasty that includes his father James and uncle Edward, went to Harrow School.

But when asked if the name was inspired by the former prime minister, Fox said: "Who knows? Who knows?"

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

Fox and Piper married at the Parish Church of St Mary's in Eastbourne, near their home in West Sussex. They met when they starred together in the West End stage play Treats in late 2006.