Newsreader Peter Woods' family welcome their secret brother Justin Webb

The children of the late BBC news presenter Peter Woods have welcomed Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb into their family after he revealed he was their secret half-brother.

The 50-year-old Today programme host made contact with Guy and Susan Woods to inform them before he publicly disclosed he was the lovechild of the respected 1970s broadcaster in a Radio Times article.

Webb, whose radio colleague John Humphrys used to work alongside Woods as a young reporter, said he had no contact with his late father apart from a brief encounter at the age of six months.

Woods was already married when Webb was conceived with Gloria Crocombe, a secretary at the Daily Mirror where they both worked. She was sacked for getting pregnant and gave birth in 1961.

Woods went on to become a celebrated host of the BBC's flagship Nine O'Clock News. He was absent during Webb's upbringing and died aged 64 in 1994 after battling cancer.

Guy Woods, 53, told how Webb sought the blessing of his late father's family before going public with the revelations.

Mr Woods, who lives in Sutton, Surrey, said: "As with anyone who discovers they have got a brother they did not know existed, it was a shock but it is exciting.

Webb said: "I still think of him as Peter Woods first and my father only after some thought."