Emmerdale's Anna Nightingale has revealed she is pregnant.
The 30-year-old actress is renowned for playing Andrea Tate on the long-running ITV soap.
She already has a daughter with partner Daren DIxon - and the soap star told OK! how the happy couple are now expecting their second child.
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She said: "After everything we’ve been through over the past year with the pandemic, it just sort of feels like divine timing to be pregnant. I’m honestly just super grateful and it feels like the best time for us as a family."
Anna spoke about how delighted she is to welcome a new addition to the family but admitted the baby news came as a "bit of a surprise."
She said: It’s always something we, as a family, have wanted. We were kind of like, “If it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” Daren’s very laid-back but his face did drop.
Anna added: "It hadn’t been a conversation for a little while, in terms of dates and stuff. To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise to me as well until I actually did that test, and even when I did it, I was like, “Oh, OK.” And then I did another one!
The couple already have a 4-year-old daughter named Autumn and she revealed the adorable way she broke the news that she was going to be a sister.
She said:" I made her a movie trailer! It was like, “Once upon a time, there was a little girl and she lived with her mummy and daddy. And then, one day, somebody wanted to introduce themselves.”
So, I put a little scan video in and I could see the cogs turning in her mind and it dawned on her. Her reaction was, “Oh my gosh, I don’t believe it.” And then she went, “We need to go shopping!”
The soap star does not yet know whether she is having a boy or a girl - and she also took to Instagram to share with her 17k followers how it was difficult to keep her baby joy secret
She said: "It’s been the hardest secret to keep but we @darendixon, Autumn and I are SO excited to finally announce our little family is about to get bigger."
Celebrity followers of the Emmerdale star flooded the comments to congratulate her on the happy news.
Co-star Amy Walsh said: "Gorgeous girls and bump."
Michelle Hardwick commented: "Absolutely beautiful."
Soap actor Chris Bisson posted: "Amazing!
Emmerdale and Bridgerton's Simon Lennon added: "So happy for you."
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7pm on ITV and ITVHub
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