‘Emmerdale’ star Emma Atkins is pregnant.
The actress’ character in the soap, Charity Macey, was sent to prison in Tuesday’s episode (20.01.15), and it has now been revealed the star is taking a break from the show because she is eight months pregnant.
A source said: "She’s been hiding her baby news from everyone outside of the show."
Although she has escaped punishment several times before, the show insider said producers of the ITV programme decided to write the two-year jail sentence for insurance fraud into scripts in order for the 39-year-old actress to take maternity leave.
The source continued: "No one has guessed she’s pregnant so didn’t see Charity’s prison sentence coming. Everyone assumed she would get away with it like she has so many times in the past.
"But the fact that Emma is pregnant gave the writers a perfect opportunity to finally punish Charity. She’s going to be rotting in jail for at least a year."
However, Emma – who is expecting the child with her businessman partner, Tom – was determined to stay in the soap for as long as possible before giving birth, and was three months pregnant when she filmed harrowing scenes in which her on-screen husband Declan (Jason Merrells) attacked her, leaving viewers wondering whether she was going to survive.
The source told The Sun newspaper: "Emma was never going to slow down and the fact she’s been at the forefront of the show shows what a true professional she is."
Emmerdale’s Emma Atkins pregnant
