Emmerdale actress Michelle Hardwick has revealed the happy news that she is expecting a baby.
Michelle, who will welcome the baby with her wife Kate Brooks, made the announcement on social media on Tuesday (April 21) as she shared a photo of herself with Kate and their pet dog Fred.
In the picture Kate points at Michelle's pregnant belly, while Michelle smiles and cradles her very small baby bump. "Fred's big brother duties commence in October #BabyBrooks," she captioned the photo.
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"OMG congratulations – how wonderful! You must be over the moon," former Emmerdale star Gaynor Faye (who played Megan Macey in the ITV soap) wrote in reply, alongside a host of other congratulatory messages from fans and some of the soap's other famous faces.
"Happy for you all!" Gemma Atkinson added on Instagram, while EastEnders' Honey Mitchell actress Emma Barton commented: "Amazing & happy news. Congratulations to you both."
Michelle and Kate, who is a producer, first confirmed they were a couple in October 2018 and the couple got married in September last year.
Meanwhile, Michelle's soap character Vanessa Woodfield is currently facing a very difficult time following her diagnosis with bowel cancer.
While Vanessa is now starting to make plans for a worst case scenario, including broaching the subject of who will care for her young son Johnny, her fiancée Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) is clearly feeling overwhelmed by the situation.
Next week Vanessa will instead ask her best friend Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) to be Johnny's guardian if she passes away, a decision which will leave Charity feeling hurt as she feels that she should be the one responsible for Johnny.
With Michelle now set to be taking some maternity leave in the near future, what will this mean for Vanessa?
Emmerdale currently airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm on ITV.
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