Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison is pregnant with her third child

Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison is pregnant with her third child.

The 38-year-old, who joined the BBC One show in 2009, will be taking time away from the show as she welcomes the newest addition to her family in May.

She already has two daughters, six-year-old Red and five-year-old Lux, with her partner Matt Goodman.

On juggling her career and motherhood, Ellie told the Radio Times it is “hugely important” for her to be at home with her children as much as possible – leaving her conflicted because working mothers “can’t have it all”.

“I didn’t have them to be raised by somebody else,” she explained.

“But having said that, I do want them to see me work and see me work in a job that I love.”

Ellie will soon be seen on TV putting herself in dangerous waters after going in search of whales and sharks that feed in British coastal waters.

She spent six days at sea with Ben Fogle filming ITV’s Britain’s Whales, which airs on March 25 at 8pm, and Britain’s Sharks, which airs at 9pm.

But although the programme involved her spending six minutes underwater with hundreds of sharks, Ellie said: “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t be a Steve Backshall or a Bear Grylls because you can’t be on huge expeditions for weeks and months on end and be present in your children’s lives.

“You simply can’t have it all. It is absolutely different for daddies. It just is.

“If you hear about women doing the same, people look on very anxiously and nervously.”

The presenter said she would take time off from Countryfile at least until next winter.

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