Emmerdale's Roxy Shahidi is pregnant.

Roxy Shahidi

Roxy Shahidi

The 34-year-old actress - who plays events planner Leyla Harding in the long-running soap - and her husband Arsher Ali have announced they are expecting a little girl - their first child together - and can't wait to meet their little bundle of joy in January.

Speaking to OK! magazine, Roxy said: "To be honest, I was absolutely terrified when I saw the test was positive. I burst into tears. 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 around it but, once I did, I was filled with joy."

The brunette beauty had no idea she was pregnant but her co-star Charley Webb - who plays Debbie Dingle - was convinced she was with child because of her boobs.

Leyla 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. Arsher also guessed too because one day I had a sudden craving for Hula Hoops, which isn't something I'd usually eat!"

Although the couple still have a little while to go before they meet their little bundle of joy, they've already chosen a name for her - but Roxy let Arsher comprise the list.

She said: "We've chosen one [a name] but I want to keep it a secret until she's born. We wanted something quite unusual. I'm dyslexic so I found looking at names hard, so I let Arsher suggest the ones he liked and we chose from them."


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