Marathon runner Paula Radcliffe was back in training a week after giving birth to her second child, a boy called Raphael.

Ms Radcliffe’s remarkable admission comes after Denise Van Outen’s online spat with former EastEnder Natalie Cassidy over jibes about returning to work early as a new mother.

The runner and her new baby are now back home after a traumatic labour which saw medical staff having to resuscitate Raphael after the umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck.

She said: “I probably had a week completely off.

“I started doing a bit of cross training, walking and pelvic floor exercises, things like that.

“I’m hoping to do some running by Christmas and be back to doing normal training in January.”

Ms Cassidy, who gave birth a month ago, was critical of actress and presenter Van Outen’s decision to start working within weeks of having daughter Betsy.

But she was accused of hypocrisy after appearing on-screen with her new daughter Eliza.

Ms Cassidy, who stars in a new E4 show about her path to motherhood, gave an interview recently in which she said: “Denise van Outen went back to work after two weeks because she said she needed to feel normal again.

“I just think ‘What have you had a child for? Having a child should be your job’.”