The mother who beat pregnant Myleene to making an exhibition of herself

It might not be everybody's idea of art, but Anna Murphy likes her cast of her baby bump on display on the mantelpiece.

The 38-year-old was a trend setter for celebrities such as Myleene Klass and had the belly cast mould made a few weeks before she gave birth to twins Lola and Cristiano, now seven.

'I had the cast made because I wanted to capture my pregnancy appearance,' she explained.


















I was having twins and was very big. Seeing it in a 3D way rather than as a photo was brilliant.

'It has become a unique piece of art in my home. It is a lovely piece.

'It is in the children's nursery but everyone who comes around goes in to have a look,' added the financial PA, who lives in Essex with her 42-year-old husband Mark.
Recently, the children asked me to put the cast on to show them how I looked when I was pregnant.

'It still fitted and they were amazed they had lived inside my stomach.

'It doesn't surprise me that Myleene Klass and more and more women are having casts made of their stomachs when they are pregnant.'

'I now buy a kit for every expectant mother I know so they can have one made for themselves,' she added.
Ready for show: The casts are often decorated and used for display

After: Anna has decorated her cast and it hangs in her children's nursery

Belly casting has become increasingly popular of late, according to professional caster Juliann Rubijono.

'There's a different attitude toward motherhood than there was when I was pregnant almost 20 years ago,' she explained.

'I felt awkward – we covered ourselves up a lot more in the early Nineties and late Eighties. Now women are proud to be pregnant. They embrace it.'

Most of those who take a cast do so two to six weeks before their due date. The entire process can take up to an hour-and-a half.

You can easily do it yourself, with a belly casting kit, on sale for as little as £20.

Vaseline is applied to the body, to allow the cast to be removed easily. Then strips of cloth are dipped in plaster and smeared across the body.

It usually starts to dry within ten minutes. However, many women enlist the help of a professional instead, which can cost hundreds of pounds.

Among the celebrities who have joined in the fun is Klass.

Just weeks before she gives birth to her second child, the 32-year-old TV presenter has made a belly cast to preserve her bump for posterity.

She has yet to reveal what she plans to do with the finished article. But it seems unlikely she'll hide it in the attic.

Perhaps she'll take a lead from mothers who have painted their casts and hung them on the wall for all to see. Some women even dare to use their casts as fruit bowls.
Miss Klass revealed her exhibitionist bent when she posted up a picture of herself on her Twitter page with her tummy covered in plaster of Paris.

She then wrote on the site afterwards: 'Chaos. Plaster got stuck down the sink. Cue flood.'

Of course, we already knew that Miss Klass has few qualms about showing off her body. In 2007 she modelled a white bikini for a Marks & Spencer advertising campaign.

Then she appeared naked on the cover of Glamour magazine while she was pregnant with her daughter Ava, now three, recreating actress Demi Moore's controversial pose in 1991 for Vanity Fair.

She is expecting her second girl with partner Graham Quinn later this month.

Billie Piper leaves raunchy day job behind for a day on the beach with Laurence and son Winston

She might play a high-class prostitute in her day job as ITV's Belle de Jour - but Billie Piper looked every inch the loving mother and loved-up wife as she enjoys the Los Angeles weather with husband Laurence Fox and two-year-old son, Winston.

The family are currently on holiday in California and were spotted catching some sun at trendy Venice Beach yesterday.

Billie, 28, was seen getting coffee for herself and her actor husband before they snuggled together in the cool ocean breeze.

Why I'm happy to tell my child I don't know who her father is

Jessica McCallin has already chosen a name for her unborn daughter. She will be called Freya, after the Norse goddess of fertility.

‘Freya is one of my favourite girls’ names,’ she says. ‘I didn’t know the meaning but, when I found out, I knew straight away that would be her name. It’s perfect.’

It’s somewhat fitting, too. Because Freya’s father is a 6ft Dane in his 20s, with greeny-blue eyes and blond hair. But beyond those few physical characteristics, neither Jessica nor Freya will know any more.










This is because last June, Jessica, 36, flew to Copenhagen and was artificially inseminated with the sperm of an anonymous Danish donor — and more and more British women are doing exactly the same thing.

Last year, about 500 to 1,000 British women were treated in Denmark, resulting in between 100 to 200 pregnancies.

‘It was an incredibly easy process,’ recalls Jessica, who is single. ‘After a few months of monitoring my cycle, I booked a flight to coincide with the time I ovulated.

‘I’d found out about the Danish sperm bank through a friend. It occupied a few rooms in a tasteful period building in the centre of Copenhagen.

‘The nurse put me at ease. I didn’t feel a thing as she carried out the procedure, and it was over within minutes. Then, half an hour later, I was back strolling round the streets of Copenhagen. I felt very comfortable about what I had just done.’

So why did Jessica go to Denmark rather than use a British sperm donor?
‘I don’t have a single regret. I have loved being pregnant and I am looking forward to meeting my daughter.

‘In my early to mid-20s, I knew I wanted children. By my late 20s, I was in a relationship and I thought I would get married and have them the usual way. But the relationship didn’t work out. It would have been nice to have met someone to share my life with, but it hasn’t happened.

‘Some of my friends have rushed into having children with a man they weren’t sure about, and things haven’t worked out. I wouldn’t want to do that.

‘I always saw 40 as my fertility cut-off point. But when I turned 35, I read a raft of articles about a woman’s fertility dropping sharply from 35.

‘There was no major desperation that gripped me. It was a growing feeling that I knew I wanted a child.

‘One of my younger sisters has been trying for a child for two years and I felt I needed to start trying earlier rather than later, in case I had fertility problems.

‘Some time back, a gay friend offered to be a donor, but I decided against it because I thought it may cause complications. So, after years of thinking about it, the idea of going to Denmark just felt right.’
Jessica decided to pick an anonymous donor. ‘The anonymity issue was the one thing that concerned me,’ she says. ‘I read a lot of psychological research papers for donor-conceived people. The constant theme which caused distress was being lied to, or having their feelings denied.

‘Most research says the best approach is to be honest from when your child asks about who their dad is. I don’t know what I’ll say, but I’ll find a form of words.

‘And I’m planning to set up an official group so Freya gets to meet as many children like her as possible. The clinic also holds an annual party for children born through them, which I plan to take her along to as she grows up.

These days, the definition of family is so very different from previous generations. One in two marriages end in divorce, and there are more gay families and families with stepchildren.

‘If I meet someone and I fall in love then so be it, but I am not concerned about being a single parent,’ says Jessica.

Her parents, John and Margaret, a former child psychologist, are supportive. The retired couple, both 64, are even buying a house near Jessica so they can be hands-on grandparents. ‘My parents have two grandchildren so far and they are desperate for more,’ she says.

And would she like to have another child? ‘I have been thinking about it more and more. I’ll see how things go. But if I did, I would use the same sperm donor again as it makes sense for Freya to have a sibling exactly like her.’

Amber Rose defies weight jibes... but those skin-tight leggings won't help

Kara Tointon, Danielle Lineker and Sheridan Smith lead the glamour as Legally Blonde cleans up at the Olivier Awards

It's the biggest night in the theatreland calendar and the Olivier Awards 2011 certainly didn't disappoint on glamour.

A host of leading ladies past and present including Sheridan Smith, Kara Tointon and Danielle Lineker put on their finest frocks as they dazzled on the red carpet at London's Theatre Royal.

And there was plenty to celebrate for Smith, who not only picked up Best Actress In A Musical for her role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical, but co-star Jill Halfpenny was named Best Supporting Actress with the show also bagging Best New Musical.

Multi-tasking Kim Kardashian promotes her Skechers trainers as she hits the gym

She was spotted eating a hearty meal of a burger, fries and a muffin earlier this week.

So it comes as no surprise that Kim Kardashian was eager to work off her calorie intake shortly after.

Heading to a Studio City gym yesterday, the reality star also managed to do a spot of celebrity endorsing.

The bump that says a new Kidd is on the way

Congratulations to TV presenter and sportswoman Jodie Kidd who is four months pregnant.

The former supermodel is expecting her first child with her Argentine polo player boyfriend Andrea Vianini, 40, whom she has been dating since last May.

Jodie, 32, confirmed the news while on holiday in Barbados at her family’s estate, Holders.