Special TV delivery for midwife Moira

Unbeknown to community midwife Moira Leech, of Dunstable, she had been nominated for the programme by mum-of-two Viktoria Seed, who she had helped during her first pregnancy.

In a covert operation, staff at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital arranged for a team from Text Santa to surprise Moira and her colleagues on December 23.

The team of four, who are attached to the hospital but are based in Leighton Buzzard, were told they needed to be at work, in uniform, because a journalist compiling a feature about midwifery wanted to interview them.

But outside, presenter Lisa Snowdon and a camera crew were waiting to hand over the piles of presents.

Moira, 56, said: “We thought we were going to do an interview about home births. I started to get a bit suspicious when I realised the reporter wasn’t even writing anything down.

“Then Lisa Snowdon walked in with a microphone. She called my name out and I almost jumped out of my skin.

“Behind her was the entourage of the camera crew, the director and assitants – we couldn’t believe it.”

Lisa explained to Moira that she had been nominated for the programme by Victoria, and the team then had to take part in a Christmas-themed quiz with studio presenters Ant and Dec, via a satellite link.

For each question they answered correctly, they were given a fantastic prize.

“It was like the Generation Game,” said Moira. “There were Fortnum & Mason hampers, cameras, hairdryers and straighteners, gift vouchers for House of Fraser and a spa weekend for all four of us.

“It was incredible.”

Moira said she and the other midwives were over the moon that Victoria had arranged for them to go on the programme.

“It was wonderful of her to put herself out to arrange it all for us,” she said. “Our job is very rewarding anyway but this was a lovely bonus.”

Viktoria, 28, of Chelsea Green, Leighton Buzzard, had problems with both of her pregnancies, and said the help she was given by the midwives was invaluable.

“In my first pregnancy I suffered from needle phobia where my blood pressure and temperature would go up, so they couldn’t take blood from me as it would have been dangerous for the baby,” she said.

“I felt really disconnected from my son but the GP referred me to Moira and she listened to me and did things like getting me to listen to my son’s heartbeat.

“In my second pregnancy my tummy was measuring bigger than it should have been, and at one point the baby’s heartbeat was very fast. I didn’t have any contractions and I wasn’t able to have the home birth I had wanted, and I ended up with post natal depression.

“I wasn’t discharged by the midwives until two months later, when they could have done it after 10 days. They wanted to keep an eye on me and that was so personal and so valuable.”

Viktoria says her relationships with her children Benedek, two, and Livia, three months, are perfect thanks to the help of the midwives.

She said: “They provided me with amazing support. If it wasn’t for them I don’t know where we would be now.

“I’m so pleased with the recognition they got on the programme.”