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FIRST THERE WAS LACEY, THEN LOUISA, NOW KELLIE IS EXPECTING…

The year 2021 is seeing a Walford baby boom, following Kellie Bright’s announcement that she’s expecting her third child with hubby Paul Stoker. The actress, who plays Linda, will become the third Square star to give birth this year, with

Lacey Turner (Stacey) on maternity leave, and Louisa Lytton (Ruby) currently also pregnant. So Kellie was glad to have a fellow mum-to-be to con de in, as she tried to keep her baby bump under wraps on set…

“I spoke to Lacey a lot,” she told OK! Magazine. “And told her early on as she was pregnant too – we had lovely chats. I hid it as long as I could on EastEnders, but I have got so big that I can’t any more!”

The 44-year-old actress is already mum to two boys –

Freddy, nine, and four-year-old

Gene. Like Gene, the new baby has been conceived through IVF, using frozen embryos from back when Gene was conceived. And the two boys can’t wait to meet their new brother or sister. “They’re both very engaged with it,” says Kellie.

Meanwhile, Lacey posted a cute snap of her 18-month-old daughter Dusty with newborn brother Trilby, and revealed that the new big sister has embraced her role…

“She’s the best babysitter,” joked Lacey. “She rocks him, puts his dummy in and pushes him around the kitchen. She loves him.”

Also heading off on maternity leave this year is Louisa, who confessed she had a solution to food cravings on set while in the early stages of her pregnancy.

“I carried cheese bites in my pocket to eat behind the set wall when no one was watching!” she laughed.