Amy Walsh is pregnant! Emmerdale star reveals she is expecting her first child with Toby Alexander-Smith.. two years after the couple met in the studio audience on Strictly Come Dancing
- The actress fell for Alexander-Smith while watching the BBC talent show at Hertfordshire’s Elstree Studios
- They are now looking ahead to the birth of their first child, and Amy admits she is thrilled after convincing herself she might never have children
- The actress was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries when she was 20, a common condition that affects the way ovaries work
- The news comes as her Emmerdale character Tracy Metcalfe remains embroiled in a powerful postnatal depression storyline
Emmerdale star Amy Walsh is expecting her first child with EastEnders actor Toby Alexander-Smith, the man she met in the studio audience at Strictly Come Dancing.
The actress, 34 – whose older sister is Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh – fell for Alexander-Smith while watching the BBC talent show at Hertfordshire’s Elstree Studios in 2019.
The couple are now looking ahead to the birth of their first child, and Amy admits she is thrilled after convincing herself she might never have children.
Happy News: Emmerdale star Amy Walsh is expecting her first child with EastEnders actor Toby Alexander-Smith, the man she met in the studio audience at Strictly Come Dancing
She told OK!: ‘It feels as though the way everything happened was meant to be. I thought I might struggle with fertility, so for pregnancy to happen quite easily and when I wanted – I was gobsmacked. We feel incredibly lucky…’
The actress, best known for her role as Tracy Metcalfe in Emmerdale, was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries when she was 20, a common condition that affects the way ovaries work.
She added: ‘I always thought falling pregnant was going to be a battle. Toby knew how worried I was, especially as I’m a bit older. I did wonder if it would ever happen for me, so it feels like a blessing.’
Old times: The actress – whose sister is Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh – fell for Alexander-Smith while watching the BBC talent show at Hertfordshire’s Elstree Studios in 2019
The news comes as her Emmerdale character remains embroiled in a powerful postnatal depression storyline.
Discussing Tracy’s struggle when speaking to the show’s hosts Eamonn Holmes and Rochelle Humes, the actress, 34, confessed: ‘For anyone who’s been through it, it must be a hard watch.’
After watching a clip of herself as Tracy, she explained: ‘I am even emotional watching that clip, so for anyone who’s been through it must be a hard watch. It’s the first time I’ve taken on something really important.’
Struggle: The actress was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries when she was 20
The soap star also added that the Emmerdale team ‘spoke to case studies and we had one-on-one contact with sufferers from the illness’.
She continued: ‘So I knew that every time I played something out, it was a reflection on what they went through. It was an immense amount of pressure but an honour.’
Demonstrating her knowledge of the illness after working closely with real life sufferers of post natal depression, Amy shared that she felt it was ‘so important’ to reflect that ‘symptoms don’t always show themselves until months down the line’.
Success: She is best known for her role as Tracy Metcalfe in Emmerdale (pictured). The character is currently struggling with a lengthy bout of post-natal depression
She added: ‘People think they only suffer through a few weeks and then they get back on track. But research has shown symptoms don’t always show themselves until months down the line.
‘One of our case studies only realised after her child was one year old. And I think it’s not dramatising it for drama’s sake but telling the truth with it.
‘I think they’ve [Emmerdale] done that really well. It didn’t need to be a dramatic thing, it could just be the raw emotions.’