Former EastEnders star Kellie Shirley, who played Carly Wicks in the soap, has announced she is pregnant with a baby boy.
Kellie, 41, first appeared in Albert Square in 2006 before making an exit in 2008 and then briefly returned in 2012.
According to the Mirror, she started feeling symptoms of pregnancy while filming CBeebies show Biff & Chip in Manchester and the actress said that she was shocked when she found out.
Kellie revealed she told the 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.
"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?"
Kellie says she has been in touch with EastEnders co-star Matt Di Angelo, who welcomed twins in earlier this year.
And the actress says she has kept in contact with other members of the cast, including Pam St Clement.
"I’m very fond of Pam, she has a wicked sense of humour, she’s very political – as am I – and we have the same taste in drama and comedy. So we talk about all the things we’ve been watching and the people that we know," she said.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here .
