Coronation Street's James Burrows has proudly shown off his newborn daughter after his girlfriend went through a gruelling 46-hour labour.
The soap actor, who plays Dr Ali Neeson, welcomed his first child Betty Florence Burrows on April 25 with his long-term partner Sophie Coates, 30.
But the 27-year-old revealed to OK! his daughter's birth wasn't quite as smooth as they were hoping, after Sophie was induced due to suffering pre-eclampsia.
After enduring the long birth, the new parents were told that their daughter - who was born a week early - had developed an infection and they had to remain in the hospital for ten days.
He said that while welcoming his daughter was "the best moment of my life" it was also difficult to watch his partner go through.
"It was quite a stressful time. I just wanted to get them both home.”
Sophie explained that she had been "in and out" of hospital from week 30 of her pregnancy and was constantly checked for high blood pressure , before she was told that she had developed pre-eclampsia.
“I was told to come back the following day at 6pm," Sophie recalls.
"Pre-eclampsia affects the function of the placenta so if that stops working properly it affects the baby’s growth, so it was safe to induce me.
"I was induced with a hormone drip. It was 46 hours in total. It was very intense."
The couple, who have been enjoying their new family life at home, first announced the arrival of their child on Instagram at the end of May.
Read the full interview with James and Sophie only in this week’s OK! magazine, out nationwide on Tuesday.
