They announced they were expecting their first child together earlier this month.
And Amy Walsh, 34, hinted at her baby’s due date during an appearance with her beau Toby Alexander-Smith, 31, on Loose Women on Friday.
Joking that her grandmother disliked having her birthday in December, the expectant Emmerdale actress Amy said: ‘It could be a Christmas baby. But my grandma was and she really hated it.’
Delighted: Amy Walsh, 34, hinted at her baby’s due date during an appearance with her beau Toby Alexander-Smith, 31, on Loose Women on Friday
The soap star, who plays Tracy Metcalfe on the ITV soap, insisted it was love at first sight when she first met EastEnders actor Toby in 2019.
Television personality Amy, who is the sister of Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh, 39, said she quizzed her friend on Toby as soon as she set eyes on him when they both sat in the Strictly Come Dancing audience.
She explained: ‘It was just pure chance that we were both there that night sat in the front row.
Festivities: Joking that her grandmother disliked having her birthday in December, Emmerdale actress Amy said: ‘It could be a Christmas baby’
‘He walked in and sat next to me and I turned round to my friend and was like, “Who is that? He’s so fit!” And she was like, “I knew you’d say that straight away.”
‘We were just chatting all night and really got on.’
Toby, who plays Gray Atkins in EastEnders, added: ‘It’s very snug in that Strictly audience and we were sat very similar to how we’re sat now…
Look of love: The soap star, who plays Tracy Metcalfe on the ITV soap, insisted it was love at first sight when she first met EastEnders actor Toby in 2019
Old times: The actress – whose sister is Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh – fell for Alexander-Smith while watching Strictly Come Dancing at Hertfordshire’s Elstree Studios in 2019
‘Once the show had finished I went to the bar and Amy was with people from Emmerdale and as I looked over she had the biggest glass of red wine and a pack of chicken crisps and I thought that’s a woman after my own heart.’
Amy chimed in: ‘I was mortified when he asked me out because I was still holding them.’
Amy moved in with Toby during lockdown and they saw a doctor when they first started trying for a baby as Amy has Polycystic Ovaries.
Screen star: Toby, who plays Gray Atkins in EastEnders, said he and Amy were sat snuggly together in the Strictly audience
Famous family: Amy Walsh (right) is the younger sister of Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh (left), who shot to fame on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002
She explained: ‘I got pregnant at about 20 and when you’re young you don’t worry too much but as you get older it played on my mind especially in my early 30s being single at that point.
‘I saw the doctor just before we started trying and she said just go for it and we did!’
Announcing her pregnancy earlier this month, Amy admitted she was thrilled after convincing herself she might never have children.
She told OK! magazine: ‘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…’
Amy was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries when she was 20, a common condition that affects the way ovaries work.
Success: Amy’s Emmerdale character Tracy Metcalfe (pictured) has been struggling with a lengthy bout of post-natal depression
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.’
The pregnancy news came as her Emmerdale character remained embroiled in a powerful postnatal depression storyline.
Discussing Tracy’s struggle during a previous appearance on Loose Women, Amy 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.’
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.’
Moving on up: Amy and Toby moved in together amid the coronavirus pandemic and starting trying for a baby once they were living together
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’.
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.’
Struggle: The actress was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovaries when she was 20 and is already mother to sons Bobby, seven, and Cole, four