Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow, 73, and his wife welcome their first child

"Amid these challenging times, we feel doubly blessed to be able to celebrate our good fortune"

Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow has announced the birth of his first child, a son, with his wife Dr Precious Lunga. In a statement released via the Press Association, the Channel 4 newsreader revealed that the baby was born on March 2nd through a surrogate. The couple told the press that they are delighted to welcome their child, after Lunga had experienced medical setbacks and miscarriages. Snow and Lunga also expressed their gratitude to the surrogate who made it possible. The statement reads: "Jon Snow and Dr Precious Lunga are delighted to report that on 2nd March we were delivered of a baby boy. In our desire to seal our now eleven years of marriage with a baby, my wife suffered numerous medical setbacks and miscarriages." It continues: "Consequently, we will always be deeply grateful to our surrogate, who carried our embryo to term. Amid these challenging times, we feel doubly blessed to be able to celebrate our good fortune." Lunga is a Zimbabwean epidemiologist with the Medical Research Council. The couple tied the knot on the Caribbean island Mustique. Snow, who is 73, has two daughters from his previous marriage to human rights lawyer Madeline Colvin. The journalist is known for being very private about his personal life. He previously told the press that he has "no interest" in discussing his private life. In addressing the couple's 26-year age gap, Snow said that Lunga's mental age is much "higher" than his. "She's somewhere in her forties," he said after their wedding. "She's very, very mature. I mean, she's a serious boffin." Snow is best known for being the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News after taking up the post in 1989. He was awarded a BAFTA fellowship in 2015.