EastEnders' star Kellie Shirley has announced she is pregnant.
The actress, 41, who is already proud mum to seven-year-old twins, said it was a 'shock' to learn she is expecting a baby boy with her husband Phil Davies.
Kellie, who played Carly Wicks on the hit BBC soap from 2006 to 2008, and briefly returned in 2012, was filming CBeebies show Biff & Chip in Manchester when she began to experience pregnancy symptoms.
But the actress said she was stunned when she discovered she was expecting, but is over the moon by the surprise in an interview with OK! Magazine.
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 said.
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.
Kellie also says she plans on donating her umbilical cord blood as she’s patron of the Anthony Nolan charity, which helps those with blood cancer and blood disorders.
Umbilical cord blood has vital stem cells which can be used to help others.
Kellie says she has been in touch with EastEnders co-star Matt Di Angelo, who welcomed twins in August.
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.
To see all the exclusive pictures and watch video footage visit OK.co.uk or pick up a copy of OK! magazine
