Baby joy for Mr Bean star, 62, and lover, 33
COMEDY star Rowan Atkinson is to become a father for the third time – at the age of 62.
The comedian, best known for playing the bumbling Mr Bean, already has a son and daughter, both in their 20s, from his marriage to Sunetra Sastri.
Now he is expecting his first child with his new partner Louise Ford, 33, within the next few weeks, it was reported last night. A source said they were both ‘over the moon’.
The Blackadder star began seeing Ms Ford, an actress who plays Kate Middleton in the Channel 4 comedy The Windsors, three years ago after separating from his wife.
His 25-year marriage to Ms Sastri, whom he met in the late 1980s when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC, finally ended in 2015 after a 65second court hearing. A year later, Ms Ford moved into Atkinson’s £4.65 million London home.
Mr Atkinson is the latest celebrity to become a father in later years, following singer Sir Mick Jagger and nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow.
The source added: ‘Rowan and Louise can’t wait for their new arrival. It’s a very happy time for them both.’
In contrast to the privately educated Mr Atkinson, Ms Ford comes from a working-class South London family and attended a grammar school before reading English at Southampton and studying drama at RADA alongside the likes of Tom Hiddleston.
Mr Atkinson, who has built a fortune estimated at £70million, went to Newcastle and Oxford universities before making his name in the sketch series Not The Nine O’Clock News.
He also starred in films including Four Weddings And A Funeral and spy spoof Johnny English – with a third film in that series in the pipeline.
He met Ms Ford when they appeared together in the 2012 West End comedy Quartermaine’s Terms.
His son Ben is 23 and daughter Lily, a burlesque performer, 21. Last month, it was reported that Lily had dropped her father’s name to use her mother’s instead.