Denise Van Outen 'gave up breastfeeding'

Denise Van Outen has admitted that she gave up breastfeeding because she was too self-conscious.

The 36-year-old, who gave birth to daughter Betsy in May, told She magazine that she opted to bottle-feed after just three weeks because she was worried about being photographed.

"I can't be sitting in Starbucks and breastfeeding, because they are taking pictures," she said.

"Another time, I was at the back of a really long queue at the post office to get Betsy a passport, knowing that in the next half hour she was going to wake up and cry, wanting a feed.

"And, sure enough, when I got to the front, that's exactly what she did. And I felt so conscious of the pressures of everybody looking, tutting and waiting to see how I dealt with the situation because they knew my face."

She also revealed that she had not been able to produce enough milk but said: "I probably should have persevered a bit longer than three weeks."

Van Outen added that husband Lee Mead also wanted a chance to feed the baby.