Charlotte Crosby says she was terrified of being a parent before ‘angel baby’

Charlotte Crosby has spoken about her terror of parenthood before she had her “angel baby”.

The Geordie Shore star, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2013, is giving viewers a look at her work, home and family life in Sunderland in the second instalment of her self-titled TV series.

Crosby said “the biggest surprise” of BBC Three’s Charlotte In Sunderland is that everything she and her partner Jake Ankers were told about parenthood “was completely wrong”.

“We were absolutely terrified,” she added as she detailed her daughter being easy to manage as a new mother.

Crosby said Alba Jean slept through the night from 12 weeks old, and sometimes sleeps for 12 to 13 hours without waking.

“I get more sleep than I ever did throughout my horrible pregnancy,” she added.

She announced she was pregnant in April 2022 and gave birth later that year. This month, she revealed that she and Ankers are engaged.

Crosby also said: “In our (daughter’s) first year, we went to Australia and she did 24-hour flights, and she was an absolute angel.

“And obviously I (gave) birth in London so every single hospital appointment and all my follow-ups were in London.

“So we had to keep doing, like, a five to six-hour car journey with a baby, and I think it was something like two or three times a month and she was fine. Nothing bad ever happened.”

She said having Alba Jean has been “the easiest thing in the world”.

Crosby said the series, which covers her pregnancy and childbirth in the first season, was a “little overwhelming because my workload was really heavy”.

She said she visited several countries for TV shows during the first year of Alba’s life, released a book and a podcast, and also filmed appearances on the Australian version of The Masked Singer and the BBC’s The Weakest Link.

“When you first have a baby, you’re extremely hormonal,” she said. “Your hormones are all over the place the first month.

“I think that’s why I felt really overwhelmed by, like, just anything work-wise coming in, and any work commitments that I had to do.”

Crosby said she is “very excited” by the new series but “a little bit nervous” about what the public thinks of her parenting.

“You know what the mum police are like… I’m thinking, ‘Oh god, I bet we’re (going to) get ripped apart for some of the things we do’.

“But you know what, it’s all part and parcel of being on TV so let’s just see.”

The new series also details her mother Letitia Crosby’s breast cancer diagnosis.

Crosby said: “Mum is staying a lot more positive, I think, and, honestly, it’s a still a long journey to go.”

She added that Letitia is continuing to go through “some of her treatment”.

Charlotte In Sunderland returns on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC Three.