When Helen Skelton was announced as a new Blue Peter presenter, some were shocked that a WAG had been chosen.
But she wasn't your ordinary footballer's girlfriend, as Helen had more than a passing acquaintance with the beautiful game.
Helen worked as a waitress, barmaid and in a shop while she was studying for a degree in journalism from the Cumbria Institue of the Arts and became a host on BBC Radio Cumbria.
After working as a reporter for children's news shows Newsround and Sportsround, Helen landed one of the most sought after roles on TV when she became the 33rd Blue Peter host.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have been chosen," said Helen in August 2008. "It's a dream come true to get the best job in telly and to join the series in its 50th anniversary year is a massive honour."
At the time, Helen was dating footballer David Graham, who played for Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premier League.
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Having started his career as a striker for Stenhousemuir in 2001, Graham then played for Stanraer before heading to the Accies in 2007.
Graham entered for a Mr Scotland competition and was reportedly nicknamed 'Hollywood' by his friends because of his love of posing.
According to The Mail, when asked about the female attention he was getting he said: "Now that we've got all these new female fans I bet Helen will be flying up from London every weekend to watch our games - and to keep an eye on me."
There may have been a bit of friendly inter-family tension as Helen's brother Gavin played for rival Scottish team Kilmarnock.
Despite dating a footballer, Helen insisted she was not a WAG but found the label incredibly funny, if not a bit awkward.
"I laughed out loud when I read myself described as a Wag! That’s going to give everyone I know a right laugh," she said back in 2008.
"I do have a boyfriend and he is a footballer but that’s about as far as it goes!"
Helen is a sports fanatic and explained that she wanted to take part in sports herself rather than watching her boyfriend from the sidlenes.
She added: "I've been a bit footie fan since I was little so I am far more interested in playing sports myself. Blue Peter always gets its presenters to take on big challenges and I can’t wait for the chance to have a go!"
At the time, a Blue Peter source explained why Helen was going to be the perfect addition to the much-loved children's TV show.
A show source told the Mirror: "It's a bit of a departure to employ the services of a WAG, but they're delighted to have Helen on board.
"She's not dizzy like a lot of footballers' girlfriends - she's got a good head on her shoulders.
"Unlike most WAGs, Helen comes from a footballing family and knows her stuff. Saying that, she's also pretty clued up about shopping.
"She is perfect for Blue Peter - sexy, bubbly and up for anything."
This proved to be true, as Helen too part in a load of terrifying challenges during her five-and-a-half year stint and even broke world records.
Helen became only the second woman ever to finish the 78-mile Namibian Ultra marathon in 2009, taking 23 hours and 45 minutes, then just three weeks later she ran the London Marathon.
The daredevil also achieved two Guinness World Records while kayaking down the entire length of the River Amazon for Sport Relief in 2010 - the longest solo journey by kayak and the longest distance in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman.
While her relationship with Graham didn't last, she switched to a different sport when she married professional rugby player Richie Myler in December 2013.
At the time he played for Warrington Wolves, but when Richie switched teams to the Catalan Dragons in September 2015 the whole family moved to France.
They relocated to Perpignan in the south of the country, but the Countryfile presenter admitted it was a "tough learning curve" living in a completely different country.
"I didn’t speak the language and I felt so isolated that I used to go into the local tourist office just to talk to someone who could speak English," she told the Daily Mail's You Magazine in 2018.
"The loneliness was crushing even though the French wives and girlfriends would invite me on their nights out, which was kind.
"I would try to keep up by laughing and nodding – then somebody would ask if I understood and I would say no. They thought I was bonkers."
Helen and Richie are parents to two boys Ernie, six, and Louis, four, while daughter Elsie Kate was born four months ago.
However, Helen made the sad announcement this week that the couple have broken up after eight years of marriage.
"Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home," wrote Helen in an emotional statement posted on her Instagram stories on Monday
"We will be doing our best to co parent our small children."
The mum-of-three's statement came shortly after she shared a cryptic quote about the struggles of motherhood.
The Countryfile star appeared to suggest she was having a tough time when she re-shared: "A mama is always full of emotions, full of love, full of anxiety and worries, full of exhaustion and lack of energy, full of mum guilt and doubt, full of pride in her kids, full of pure joy.
"She feels it all, that’s the beauty of her, she carries it all too, and yet she gets up every day and does it all over again."
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