A PREGNANT comedienne had to pull out of a competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when she went into labour early.

Samantha Seager, an Atherton-born actress, had made it through to the final two rounds of the national competition for up and coming stand up comics at the world famous event, but had to pull out when her baby son decided to arrive.

Undaunted by the fact she was eight months pregnant, Samantha was determined to take part in the contest and based much of her routine around pregnancy-related gags.

But a week before she was due to make the journey from her London home to Scotland, baby Johnny decided to make an early appearance. Samantha said: "Johnny was due on August 26 but he arrived on August 8, and I had been due to perform on the 14th.

"Obviously I am disappointed, but I've got much more important things to be getting on with now. I love being a mum and I love being with my baby."

Samantha had been amazed to beat hundreds of other budding comedians in getting through to the final couple of rounds, as the contest was her first proper comedy gig.

But after giving birth to 6Ib 11 oz Johnny after a 17-hour labour, she felt too exhausted to even think about going to Edinburgh.

"My brain's complete mush at the moment," she joked.

For the time being Samantha is happy spending time with her new baby, but she does intend to have another stab at comedy and to continue acting

She said: "I will have to change my routine a lot now that I've had the baby but I've got lots more material to write about. Labour itself is a deeply hairy experience. I've not given up at all and I've been writing down everything that has happened."

Samantha already has lots of acting experience, appearing in TV series such as The Hello Girls and The Lakes.