Category News

A former Hollyoaks star has shared an adorable snap of himself alongside his son after he kept the news of the child’s birth quiet and details of his wife’s pregnancy under wraps

A Hollyoaks star has confirmed he is now a dad after his wife gave birth to their baby son. The news has been low-key announced on social media as the duo get used to life as parents.

Jonny Clarke, who plays the part of Bart McQueen and his wife Stephanie can be seen in Instagram clips and they look very much the adoring parents. The arrival earlier this year came two years after the pair tied the knot in a lavish ceremony.

The duo kept Stephanie’s pregnancy details largely under wraps and have shared only two images since their son’s birth. In a snap shared to Jonny’s social media account earlier this week, the actor is seen with his son in a soft play centre.

READ MORE: James Martin shares heartfelt message to fans as he ‘returns to day job’READ MORE: Ryan Thomas moves pigeon into house after believing bird is his late dad

The caption on the upload read: “My rainbow, my sunshine, my son.”

On his latest post, one fan gushed: “Aww, you’re a incredible father to your son, he’s lucky to have you as his dad.” Another added: “The lads.”

And it followed a image earlier in the summer which saw Jonny confirm the sweet news. In it, he revealed he had become a father and celebrated his first Father’s Day.

Back in 2023, the pair wed. Like their baby news, the couple largely kept the ceremony details away from the public. However, he did share one photo social media with his followers at the time.

Captioning a snap which shows the newlyweds looking extremely happy while posing on a bridge with a picturesque background, the actor simply penned: “07.08.23.”

Among those sending their well wishes was fellow Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas, who plays the part of Warren Fox. He wrote: “Congratulations mate,” before later adding a clapping hands emoji.

Another follower said: “Wow your not my little Bart anymore how much you have grown and changed now even married . @jamielomas21 ps I still hate warren fox and will till the rest of my life you should never have killed him @hollyoaksofficial bring back Jason Costello and Jonny to you and your Mrs a big congratulations. hope you have the best life possible not that you got the chance to in Hollyoaks”

Jonny first appeared on Hollyoaks back in 2010. He joined the McQueen family at the time, but was last seen on the soap in 2017. In 2012, Jonny was nominated for Best Serial Drama Performance at the National Television Awards.

In 2013, his character Bart fled the village alongside Joel Dexter. The duo were desperate to escape Brendan Brady after being caught stealing from him.

While Bart returned in 2017, his time back on the show was short-lived as Bart was beaten to death. It came as Bart played a part in the overdose of Warren’s sister, whose body was then buried in someone else’s grave.

Since his exit, Jonny has kept a relatively low profile away from the cameras. It’s thought he embarked on a career in marketing as he stepped back from the limelight.

Toni Laites, Yasmin Pettet and Shakira Khan formed a friendship whilst in the Love Island villa together over the summer and the trio all ended up reaching the final

Love Island runner-up Shakira Khan made a dig at other islanders from the reality TV show whilst discussing her friendship with Yasmin Pettet and Toni Laites. The trio met in the villa over the summer and have become close pals.

Shakira, 22, reached the final of the latest series of the ITV2 show in August with her partner Harry Cooksley. Although she clashed with some co-stars whilst in the villa, she had grown close to Yasmin and Toni, who were coupled up with Jamie Rhodes and Cach Mercer respectively.

All three couples made it to the final, with Yasmin and Jamie placing third together. Shakira and Harry were announced as the runner-up couple by host Maya Jama, with Toni and Cach named the winners of the most recent series.

READ MORE: Love Island exes in bitter public feud as Islander is accused of ‘lying’ after splitREAD MORE: Love Island star says ‘I’m poor’ and back at day job after reality TV fame fades

Shakira spoke about her friendship with Toni and Yasmin whilst discussing her Love Island experience on Capital XTRA earlier this week. At one point in the interview, she was asked what makes them “different from the rest”.

She described the trio as “real” in her response and said that they found a “sense of sisterhood” together. The former islander added that the three pals “keep it real” and said in the recent radio interview that they are “outspoken”.

Shakira said: “We’re real. I think people will have their opinions but I feel like we’ve always said it how it is and we always found like a sense of sisterhood with each other. We always think the same things – like we always have the same opinion.”

She continued by sharing on the radio show: “And yeah, I just think we keep it real. I don’t think we’re the sort of people you would stereotypically put on Love Island either. Like we’re all quite outspoken, strong females.”

Shakira concluded her response to the question by addressing the reaction to the trio. Sharing her thoughts, she said: “And yeah, it didn’t land with some people but the girls who get it, get it, and the girls who don’t, don’t!”

She had been an original islander on the latest series of Love Island, which ran from June to August. She had initially coupled-up with Ben Holbrough but he was then ‘stolen’ by the first bombshell, Toni, in the launch episode.

A twist then saw Shakira pitted against her co-stars as she was told that she had 24 hours to get a different boy to couple up with her or she would be dumped from the show herself. It appeared to lead to some tension in the villa.

Shakira ended up recoupling with Harry, which meant that Sophie Lee, who had been coupled up with him, had to leave the villa instead. Shakira, who clashed with other islanders at time during her stint in the villa, and Harry had an on-off romance throughout the series, including as part of a long-running love triangle with Helena Ford, whom Harry also pursued.

Shortly before the final, Shakira and Harry reunited after being a part and ended up becoming the runner-up couple. Shakira took the opportunity to thank her pals Yasmin and Toni in a post after leaving the villa beside them.

She wrote last month: “To be in the final with my two babies was definitely not on my Love Island bingo card!! Toni and Yas, I genuinely couldn’t have lasted a single day in that villa without you. I’m forever grateful I get to call you my friends.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

READ MORE: Amanda Holden looks sculpted in figure-hugging Karen Millen midi she hails ‘super flattering’

Former The X Factor star Olly Murs has revealed the sweet meaning behind his son’s name a week after he announced the arrival of his second child with wife Amelia

Olly Murs has revealed the adorable meaning behind his son Albert’s name, a week after announcing the arrival of his first son.

Last week, the former X Factor finalist announced the family has become four as his wife Amelia had given birth to their second child. The couple are already proud parents to a daughter, Madison, who was born in April 2024.

“Walking out as four. Welcome to the world, our little Albert,” he captioned his social media post last week when announcing the happy news. Ever since, the Dear Darlin’ singer has been asked why he decided on the name, which he has now answered.

READ MORE: Olly Murs pays emotional tribute to Caroline Flack before surprise Anastacia debutREAD MORE: Sweet moment Olly Murs’ daughter meets newborn brother as nickname revealed

Taking to his official Facebook page, he penned: “A few people been asking why we chose the name Albert… It’s after my great-grandad Edward ‘Albert’ Murs.

“Me and Amelia loved the name after I was on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? and now our little man gets to carry that bit of family history in the future… love you son.”

Olly appeared on the BBC ancestry show in 2024. The Troublemaker singer revealed his family hails from Latvia, so he wanted to find out what happened to his grandad Eddie, and how he managed to escape to England.

While exploring his grandfather’s Latvian roots on the show, Olly discovered his great-grandparents were circus performers – and learnt more about a wartime decision that led to a tragic family estrangement.

The star travelled to the Salamonska Circus building in Riga hoping to track down his great-grandmother Veronika Jankovska. There, he discovered that his great-grandfather Edward Murs had cheated on his wife Katrine with Veronika.

He learnt that she had given birth to Olly’s grandfather, Eddie, but handed him over to her parents as she struggled to raise him. She then went off to work at the circus.

When Nazi Germany took over Latvia, Eddie fled as a refugee with his father and Katrine, while Veronika stayed in Latvia. Olly also found out that Veronika was imprisoned in a Soviet work camp and passed away in 1988, leaving viewers in tears.

Olly and his dad Peter were left in tears when they visited Veronika’s grave as the singer expressed: “It was quite emotional to see dad cry and get upset – I’ve never seen my dad cry, actually.

“I think seeing him emotional felt like I’d done something really special for him and the family, to find some peace for him – to feel connected to Latvia.”