Helen George‘s actor ex-husband Oliver Boot has quietly become a father with the actress he moved on with after the collapse of his marriage.
Oliver, 47, who is playing Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child in the West End, and theatre actress Emma Harrold, 35, have welcomed a baby boy named Ralph David Boot.
The couple confirmed Ralph’s arrival in a joint Instagram post after he was born on May 15, revealing Emma had undergone an emergency caesarean following a difficult labour.
Helen, 42, and Oliver met while starring together in BBC drama Hotel Babylon and married in 2012. Their separation was confirmed in September 2015, just as Helen begun her stint on Strictly Come Dancing with her representative saying at the time: ‘I can confirm that Helen separated from her husband some time ago.’
Emma and Oliver appeared together in a production of Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver! at Leicester’s Curve theatre later that same year.
The show began in November 2015, less than three months after Helen’s separation from Oliver was publicly confirmed.
Oliver, who has also starred in Holby City and Endeavour, took on the role of villain Bill Sikes, while Emma played Charlotte and appeared in the ensemble.
Call The Midwife star Helen George’s actor ex-husband Oliver Boot has quietly become a father with Emma Harrold, the actress he moved on with after the collapse of his marriage
Helen and Oliver split in 2015 after three years of marriage but this week the Call The Midwife star confessed she has put the wedding band from her marriage to Oliver back on
Sharing photos of their newborn on social media, Emma wrote: ‘Delighted to introduce our beautiful boy, Ralph David Boot. ‘Born on 15th May at 00:18, weighing 3.14kg.
‘After quite a bumpy journey into the world, many hours of labour, and some concern over baby’s heart rate, he arrived safely via emergency c section, giving us all a little more drama than we had planned for!’
As well as welcoming a baby together earlier this year, it’s been revealed that Oliver quietly married Emma in August 2023, eight years after his separation from Helen was announced.
Helen and Oliver did not have children together. Helen later welcomed two daughters, Wren, eight, and Lark, four, with her Call The Midwife co-star Jack Ashton, 39.
Helen has confessed this week that she is wearing the wedding band from her marriage to Oliver again.
Discussing the ring on her Mystic Mates podcast this week, Helen said: ‘Can I say this? I will say it. This was my wedding band.’
‘The author of Call The Midwife, Jennifer Worth, writes in her books that she had two relationships: one with someone when she was younger, then one with her husband, Philip.
‘And she always used to wear the ring from the first relationship on her right hand, on the other hand, to remind her.
‘I always remember that. And I thought, “I’m going to do the same actually because it is part of me.”
Helen did not reveal when she made the decision to start wearing the ring on her right hand.
Oliver and Emma confirmed their baby boy’s arrival in a joint Instagram post after he was born on May 15, revealing Emma had undergone an emergency Caesarean
Helen and Oliver’s separation was confirmed in September 2015, with Helen’s representative saying at the time: ‘I can confirm that Helen separated from her husband some time ago’ (pictured in April 2015 shortly before their split)
Her ex’s happy news comes as Helen faces fresh upheaval in her own love life.
The actress recently split from property marketing agency boss Dan Innes, 52, following a whirlwind relationship.
The pair had been dating since March 2025 and Dan had moved into Helen’s west London home at the beginning of this year before they went their separate ways in July.
Helen later described the period following their breakup as ‘pretty s**t’.
Following the end of her marriage to Oliver, Helen went on to have a seven-year relationship with actor Jack Ashton.
The pair met while working together on Call The Midwife and welcomed their two daughters before announcing their separation in 2023.
Helen now appears ready to move forward again following her split from Dan.
On her podcast this week, she also joked that when her daughters are not sharing her bed it is sometimes ‘potentially for suitors’.
The actress also revealed what she is looking for in a future partner as she joked that her next ‘task’ was to find an Australian husband who was ‘slightly spiritual, but very practical’.
