EastEnders' star Kellie Shirley has shown off her blossoming baby bump after announcing she is pregnant.
The 41-year-old soap actress is already mum to her seven-year-old twins and has today revealed she is expecting a baby boy with her husband Phil Davies.
The BBC1 star told how it was a “shock” to have discovered she is pregnant but is over the moon to be.
In pictures released alongside her pregnancy announcement, the mum, who played Carly Wicks on the hit BBC soap from 2006 to 2008, and briefly returned in 2012, Kellie looked radiant as she cradled her bump.
She posed in her gorgeous navy and green living room with her twins as she announced her baby news with OK! Magazine.
In a unique green knitted dress, Kellie looked stunning as she held her growing bump next to her fireplace. The black button detail cascaded down and round her belly as she posed in glam makeup and her hair styled in a fresh blow dry.
In another stunning image, Kellie gazed out of her kitchen window in an orange knitted bodycon dress with square neck detail.
She showed off corners of her stunning home, decorated in a deep dramatic colour palette, as she posed in various locations for her pregnancy announcement photoshoot.
Kellie told how she was filming CBeebies show Biff & Chip in Manchester when she began to experience pregnancy symptoms.
She told the exciting news to her children Pearl and Louie when she was 18 weeks pregnant and they're thrilled to learn they are expecting a little brother.
"We found out we’re having another boy. As the pregnancy was a shock, I felt like I wanted to be able to connect with the baby more. I didn’t have a preference – I just want the baby to be healthy," Kellie told OK! Magazine .
The actress said she has found this pregnancy much harder, battling sickness in the early stages - but didn't think she was pregnant when a medic discovered her on the floor trying to combat her nausea.
"Last time was such a breeze in comparison. Being older this time around, I feel absolutely floored. When I found out, I didn’t tell people at work – I kept really quiet about it," she said.
"I was just getting my head around it. Being an actress and freelance, you think, ‘Will people view me differently? Has the world moved on?"
The star thinks she will have a planned caesarean after she had to have an emergency C-section when she gave birth to her twins.
The pregnancy came as a huge surprise to the couple, with hello finding out she was pregnant during the very hot summer weather.
The actress said she started to feel unwell and a set medic found her on her hands and knees while “feeling horrendous”.
She told the publication how the medic had asked “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” but the star brushed off the suggestion, saying she’d hardly seen her husband and assumed it was just the heat.
She went on to explain: “Then I was being sick for a couple of weeks and he said, ‘Go and get a pregnancy test’, so I did. It came back positive straightaway. I was like, ‘Oh my God, John was right!’ It was a really lovely surprise. I feel very lucky.”
To see all the exclusive pictures and watch video footage visit OK.co.uk or pick up a copy of OK! Magazine.
