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Theatre and Film director Peter Barnes and his wife Christie are the proud new parents of triplets. But Peter has come to fatherhood late in life - he's 72.
 Peter Barnes, his wife Christie and their triplets |
Peter was a workaholic in his early years and his first thoughts were for getting his plays performed and earning a decent living. He says, "My mind boggles sometimes at the thought of young people starting out. It's brave".
Christie first met Peter at the age of 22 when she was writing a book about the Royal Shakespeare Company. She says she knew then that they would marry.
They lost a baby and decided to have IVF treatment. Peter's age meant that there was a certain amount of hurry involved. Christie says that when she first had a scan, she thought there was something wrong with the equipment - she was having triplets.
Peter's friends thought he was an unlikely father. He calls the babies his "little Russian dolls". The couple's nanny, Victoria, says that Peter seems to have taken to fatherhood rather well. She says he's able to spend much more time with the babies than a father in his 20s.
His one concern is that he will "fall off the twig" before the children reach adulthood. But, as he says, there are many fathers who don't make it through their 20s.
