'Hollyoaks' star Kirsty-Leigh Porter welcomes surprise baby

Hollyoaks star Kirsty-Leigh Porter has revealed that she has had a baby.

The TV star kept her pregnancy news quiet but has now spilled the beans in an Instagram photo appearing to show her partner Paul Barber carrying an infant in a car seat.

Porter, 31, didn’t write anything, but added a string of emojis including a baby, a rainbow, a heart and prayer hands.

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The happy news comes almost two years after the actor’s baby girl Penny-Leigh was stillborn.

Porter’s celebrity friends and co-stars posted their congratulations after she shared the picture of the baby in the car seat, with Steph Waring and Gregory Finnegan among those to comment.

“So happy for you both!! Congratulations,” Waring posted, while Finnegan wrote: “Fantastic! Love to you all.”

Jessica Fox said it was “the BEST thing to happen this year”.

Porter revealed in January 2019 that she had lost her baby daughter.

She told her fans on Instagram: “Our beautiful baby girl, Penny-Leigh Barber was born sleeping on the 21st of December 2018 at 6.49am, 29 weeks & 3 days young.

“My heart has never felt pain like it.

“Sleep sweetly our angel. We will always love you. Love your Mummy & Daddy. My Everything.”

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Porter is best known for playing Leela in Hollyoaks, but has had other soap roles, including the part of Zoe Willson in Corrie and Roz Fielding in Emmerdale.

She has also been in programmes including Common and Ashes To Ashes.

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