BABY NEWS: Find out which Emmerdale star is expecting the patter of tiny feet in real life

Emmerdale

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Congratulations are in order for Emmerdale star Roxy Shahidi, who has revealed she’s pregnant with her first child.

The actress, who plays unlucky in love Leyla Harding has revealed she’s pregnant with a baby girl and said her loved-ones are delighted as her daughter will be the first girl to be welcomed to the extended family in 20 years.

Emmerdale
Emmerdale actress, Roxy, is delighted to be expecting her first child (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Roxy, 34, a qualified yoga teacher, told OK magazine that she and husband Arsher Ali, were over the moon with the news. She said, “We had only been trying for a few weeks and I was sure it was going to take us much longer. It took a few weeks before I got my head round it, but once I did I was filled with joy.”

The actress, who Emmerdale fans recently saw call off her screen wedding to Pete Barton, explained she initially had no idea she was pregnant but it was her co star and mum-of- two, Charley Webb, (aka Debbie Dingle), who noticed the signs thanks to the increased size of her boobs!

Roxy explained: "It's weird as Charley actually told me she thought I was pregnant before I did the test. We had been working together and she called me when I got home and said my boobs gave it away.”

Emmerdale
Arsher and Roxy got married in 2010 (Credit: ITV)* ©ITV

CHECK OUT: child soap stars - where are they now?

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Child soap stars - where are they now? SLIDER with cover pic

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CREDIT: REX/Shutterstock

child soap stars

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Helen Flanagan (Rosie Webster)

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CREDIT: ITV Emmerdale

Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle)

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Charlie Clements (Bradley Branning)

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Sonny Flood (Josh Ashworth

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She goes on to say her hubby also had his suspicions thanks to her unusual cravings."Arsher also guessed too because one day I had a sudden craving for Hula Hoops, which isn't something I'd usually eat!" she adds.

Roxy and Arsher first met while working on a play together and tied the knot in 2010. She has previously revealed how her hubby was so smitten, he proposed before they had even shared their first kiss.

She told the Mirror, “He just looked me in the eye at a cast party and said, ‘Will you marry me?'. I didn’t answer and he said, ‘You will be my wife’ and that was it. I didn’t quite know what to make of it because I didn’t know him that well. I half wanted to laugh and say, ‘That’s absolutely ridiculous!’ and the other half thought, ‘Oooh, kiss me passionately!’”

Emmerdale
Leyla's wedding to Pete was a doomed affair (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Viewers will have to wait and see what Roxy’s real-life pregnancy will mean for her alter-ego, Leyla. The wedding planner has been through hell recently with her own wedding to Emma’s son Pete being dramatically called off following the revelation that he was carrying on with her best mate Priya!

With another maternity leave to weave into storylines we’re sure the writers can come up with something suitably juicy. Maybe it’s time Leyla gave Pete The Cheat a taste of his own medicine and found herself a handsome new love interest?

In the meantime we’ll be looking forward to seeing what ingenious ways the camera crew can come up with to hide Roxy’s growing baby bump.

What would you like to see happen to Leyla? What exciting storylines can the writers come up with to cover Roxy's maternity leave? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter

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