Says Shayne Ward

plenty of loving company at home and is lapping up being a dad.

“It’s incredible this paternal bondbo you feel straight away. I can’tca imagine my life without my littlelit girl Willow,” he says.

“When we were carrying the babyba from the hospital, we were thinking, ‘how do we keep her alive?’ It’s crazy. We sat her there and everything came so natural. We thought things would be difficult.

“It’s amazing how everyone rallies around you and you instantly have 16 wardrobes full of clothes. My mum and her mum have massive boxes full of wipes and Sudocrem,” he adds, laughing.

Seeing her son’s successful transition from singer to soap favourite has given Shayne’s mum Philomena, 60, a boost after battling years of health woes.

In 2005, she suffered strokes and a bout of pneumonia. Shayne says his mum knows more about the Street than he does.

“We’re not allowed to tell spoilers, but mums figure it out because they know the history of it all,” he says. “I could be watching an episode thinking I can’t remember what happeneded with another family. My mum willill be able to fill me in because mums ms know everything.

At the moment, Philomena is fed up with seeing him lookok fed up on screen.

Smile

“She always says to me: ‘Arere you going to smile?’ I told her, ‘I do, but the storyline doesn’t allowow me too at the minute’.

“She’s like, ‘Just smile. It lightens up the screen’.”

But unlike Shayne, Aidan has as nothing to smile about. “Now he’se’s been told there’s a baby involveded it’s a completely different ball all game for him,” explains Shayne.e.