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Springtime baby for former EastEnders actress Jill Halfpenny

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9 FEBRUARY 2008

Strictly Come Dancing champion Jill Halfpenny will soon be hearing the patter of tiny feet. The 32-year-old Geordie actress has revealed she is pregnant with her first child and is due to give birth in May.

The former EastEnders star, who is currently receiving rave reviews for her role alongside Michael Barrymore in the Windsor Theatre Royal production of Surviving Spike, is over the moon at the thought of becoming a mum.

The news brings double excitement for her husband, actor Craig Conway. Not only will he become a dad in May, he'll also see his latest film, Doomsday, hit the cinemas.

"I can't wait to be a dad," said the 32-year-old. "It's such an exciting time."

Jill's not the only one to have storks flying over Albert Square. The soap's postie Nitin Ganatra is celebrating the birth of his second son.

It was not all plain sailing for the actor, however. Nitin, who plays Masood in the hit show, was on location in India shooting the new TV sit-com Mumbai Calling when he received the news his wife, Meera, was in labour in London.

So the 40-year-old jumped on a plane to make the 10,000 mile round trip in time to see his son's arrival in the world. He then returned to India just 72 hours later to continue filming.