EastEnders star Sid Owen has announced he is a first-time dad at the age of 49 after his fiancée gave birth on Sunday.
Sid revealed the happy news with an Instagram post as he thanked his partner Victoria Shores, 42, for ‘our baby.’
The arrival of their baby comes a year after the couple suffered a ‘heartbreaking’ miscarriage.
Happy news: EastEnders star Sid Owen has announced he is a first-time dad at the age of 49 after his fiancée gave birth on Sunday
Saring a picture of himself in scrubs, kissing Victoria, Sid wrote: ‘Been a long a day. But. Can I say. I love you Victoria. Thank you for our baby.’
The post was flooded with comments from Sid’s EastEnders co-stars, with Patsy Palmer, who played his on-screen partner Bianca, writing ‘Congratulations to you all.’
Dean Gaffney, who played Robbie Jackson, commented: ‘Congrats brother.’
While Danniella Westbrook added: ‘Congratulations daddy ❤️❤️❤️ and well done Victoria ❤️.’
Love: The post was flooded with comments from Sid’s EastEnders co-stars, with Patsy Palmer, who played his on-screen partner Bianca, writing ‘Congratulations to you all’
In December the couple appeared on Loose Women where the waitress revealed their baby was due on Valentine’s Day, before speaking about their devastating miscarriage.
Victoria, who claimed she was in a ‘state of shock’, said: ‘For me, it’s about the support after. You feel very low. I found it difficult to concentrate on anything.’
‘I’m a bit older and it wasn’t my first experience but it was Sid’s. When you’re in your 40s you’ve coped with things in life.’
Her other-half added: ‘It was really difficult. When it happened during Covid we went to hospital and I wasn’t allowed in. I was on the phone checking up. I knew what had happened but I didn’t want to believe it.’
Loss: In December the couple appeared on Loose Women where the waitress revealed their baby was due on Valentine’s Day, before speaking about their devastating miscarriage
Family: The couple fell pregnant for a second time after their devastating loss in early 2021
The actor went on to outline how the pair lay down afterwards holding hands as Victoria wept.
He said: ‘You just want to be strong for a partner. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for a woman internally.
‘It was the first time I’d got someone pregnant. It was all that excitement. For years all of my brothers were telling me I was a Jaffar.’
Victoria, who has two children, shared the ‘miracle’ news that she’d fallen pregnant again, after originally planning to try IVF in their quest to start a family.
Happiness: Sid reconnected with restaurant worker Victoria and fell in love, having previously met 23 years ago
Emotional: The actor went on to outline how the pair lay down afterwards holding hands as Victoria wept
Sid reconnected with restaurant worker Victoria and fell in love, having previously met 23 years ago.
The soap star has previously been engaged twice. First to dancer Carty Hubbard, 41, in 2000, then to TV host Polly Parsons, 37.
Sid first announced his baby news back in September in an interview with the Sunday Mirror.
He told the publication at the time: ‘I never ever dreamt I would have kids. The older you get the more distant that idea seems.
‘You give up hope sometimes, so it is a miracle it has happened. We’d spoken about it when we talked about marriage but I just didn’t think it was going to happen. I was completely shocked and over the moon.’
Expecting: Victoria, who has two children, shared the ‘miracle’ news that she’d fallen pregnant again, after originally planning to try IVF in their quest to start a family
He later took to Instagram to share a picture from the sonogram.
He has promised to try and keep his child grounded, after he revealed in his memoir From Rags To Riches that he had grown up in severe poverty after his father went to prison and his mother died when he was eight-years-old.
Speaking about his relationship with Victoria last year, Sid revealed he nearly gave up on love after a freak golfing accident left him with a broken jaw and several missing teeth.
The star had to pay £10,000 for reconstructive surgery after a ball hit him in the face while playing gold in Thailand.
Sid was single for six years and acknowledged that his loneliness caused him to experience depression.
Victoria has helped Sid find happiness since they rekindled their former romance and started chatting on Facebook.
Moving forward: SSid first announced his baby news back in September in an interview with the Sunday Mirror . He told the publication at the time: ‘I never ever dreamt I would have kids
The couple first started dating in 1998 when they met at Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s party, which was also attended by Kate Moss, John Galliano, Noel Gallagher, Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger.
They started flirting over a glass of wine in the kitchen and it wasn’t long before Sid had wooed Victoria with his charm.
The pair then jetted off to see the Rolling Stones play in Amsterdam and subsequently dated for a year.
However, their romance eventually dwindled and Victoria moved on, married and had two children while Sid remained single.
Sid proposed to Victoria in the bridal suite of Eastwell Manor spa in Kent, and have now booked the manor’s picturesque grounds for their wedding venue.
If you have been affected by the subject of this story please call the Miscarriage Association Helpline on 01924 200799.
Throwback: Sid is best known for playing Ricky Butcher in EastEnders between 1988 and 2012 (pictured in-character in 2000)
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