Call The Midwife star announces secret baby news with BBC actor

Call The Midwife star Jennifer Kirby has revealed that she has undergone a C-section after keeping her pregnancy private. The 36-year-old actress, who played Nurse Valerie Dyer in the hit BBC period drama for four seasons, welcomed her first-born child with her husband, Killing Eve star Robert Gilbert.

Jennifer shared the sweet announcement in an emotional Instagram post, where she shared a candid snap of her healing scar from surgery. In the touching update, she thanked her body and her husband for "all that they had done" as she summed up a whirlwind time. She captioned the post, writing: "One emergency caesarean, many crying sessions, a few panic attacks, infinite love, one glorious little baby, and one whole year. Thank you @r.g.bert, and thank you little body for all you've endured and all you've done. I won't take you for granted again."

The couple actually welcomed their baby into the world at Christmas but kept the news out of the spotlight, meaning that the post-birth update came as a huge surprise to many fans. Some of her 21,000 followers praised her honesty and strength in sharing the photo, with many admiring her openness about the realities of childbirth.

One penned: "Nurse Valerie would have been proud of you. Still miss you in CTMW, but life moves on and you have a whole new world. Nothing better."

Another added: "Congratulations Jennifer. It's all worth it to have your child. You look fab, btw." Meanwhile, a third commented: "Beautiful lady. I have a similar scar too from my C-section with my second. Just amazes me how utterly fabulous our bodies are."

Jennifer was a part of the BBC drama from 2017 until 2020 ,as she appeared in several emotionally charged scenes involving complex labour and delivery. She left the show after four seasons, stating that it was time to "move on" but claiming that she felt "proud" to have been a part of the hit programme.

Her husband Robert is best known for appearing in the final season of Killing Eve as tech genius Yusuf, helping Jodie Comer's Villanelle and Sandra Oh's Eve.

The couple met when they both starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Henry V in 2015.