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Friday, 1 September, 2000, 22:16 GMT 23:16 UK
Ulrika's baby faces heart surgery
Ulrika Jonsson - Channel 5 publicity shot for Jailbreak
Channel 5's new signing: Ulrika Jonsson publicises Jailbreak
Television presenter Ulrika Jonsson has pulled out of a new TV show after learning her unborn baby will have to face a series of operations to correct a rare heart condition.

The baby's heart has developed a condition known as double inlet left ventricle, which affects just one in 100,000 children.

It means there is just one pumping chamber in the heart, which causes difficulties in passing oxygen to the body's organs.

The baby, due in November, will need open-heart surgery soon after it is born, and a further operation a few months later. Another operation will be required when the child is three-years-old.

Ulrika Jonsson
Jonsson was due to start rehearsals next week
Channel 5 is now looking for a replacement presenter for its high-profile new show Jailbreak, which Jonsson, 33, was due to start work on next week.

She is resting at home with her partner and father of the child, German businessman Markus Kempen.

Jonsson's agent, Melanie Cantor, said: "She is devastated, but resilient."

The presenter - best known for the BBC's Shooting Stars and ITV's Gladiators - already has a five-year-old son, Cameron, from her marriage to cameraman John Turnbull.

Cantor told The Mirror that Jonsson was planning to "take it easy" until the birth.

"Everyone's main concern now is that it is all right," she said.

"She has had a really traumatic few months. Now she has to prepare herself for the hard months following the birth."

Jailbreak has been billed as a reality TV show to rival Channel 4's Big Brother.

To be shown six days a week for three weeks from 12 September, it follows 10 contestants as they battle to escape from a "prison" to win a �100,000 prize. It will also be shown on the internet.

See also:

11 Aug 00 | Entertainment
Channel 5 unveils Big Brother rival
28 Apr 00 | Entertainment
Ulrika Jonsson pregnant
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