Lorraine Kelly struggled to adapt to motherhood when her daughter was born

Lorraine Kelly has revealed how she struggled to adapt to motherhood when her daughter was born.

The presenter said parenting didn’t come “naturally” to her and she had to lean heavily on support from cameraman husband Steve Smith.

The couple tied the knot in 1992 and had daughter Rosie four years later.

Lorraine, who fronts her self-titled morning show on ITV, said Steve took to baby duties much more easily.

The 60-year-old, originally from East Kilbride said: “Steve took to it much better than I did.

“He is an absolute natural when it comes to being a dad. I kind of had to learn it a little bit more. It didn’t come as natural to me.

“Obviously I loved it. It’s the hardest job in the world but it’s also the most rewarding job in the world. I know
everybody says that but it’s true.”

Lorraine has praised her husband Steve for being a “hands-on dad” to Rosie while she commuted from their home in Scotland to London for work.

Rosie, now 26, is staying with Lorraine and Steve at their new house in the south of England after flying back to the UK from her home in Singapore in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Lorraine also said she and Steve were “good cop, bad cop” when parenting and told how she thinks it’s “strange” for a parent to be their child’s best friend.

She said: “Rosie is a grown woman and far more sensible than I’ll ever be.

“Now she is back here which is lovely but, of course, we are driving her crazy but that’s kind of our job.

“She is more like the parent, cooking for us and telling us to tidy up, which is quite weird. She does the shopping and we have to tell her what we want. It’s really quite nice, I’m enjoying it.

“The teenage years weren’t too bad. There was a lot of eye-rolling and a few doors slammed. I was away quite a lot because I worked in London. Steve was the parent that said eat your broccoli, brush your teeth, do your homework and I was the parent who was like, ‘I’ve got Heat magazine and free lipstick.’ It was good cop, bad cop.”

Speaking on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Lockdown Parenting Hell podcast, she added: “The thing I would always say is I’m not her best friend, I’m her mum.

“You know how parents sometimes say, ‘We’re really good pals,’ and some go out with their kids? I’d like to think she tells me everything but, of course, she doesn’t. I’m her mum. That’s why
you have your pals.

“It’s a strange idea to think you can be your children’s friend and I don’t think it’s a good thing.”