THREE CHEERS: 'MIMI WAS SO CASUAL WITH HER PREGNANCY NEWS - BUT I WAS SWEATING!'

EMMERDALE STAR JAY KONTZLE AND WIFE MIMI REVEAL THEIR JOY AT EXPECTING A THIRD CHILD, GOING WITH THE FLOW FOR THE BIRTH AND PICKING A NAME THAT TRULY REFLECTS THEIR BABY'S HERITAGE

- NICOLA FAHEY

Getting the news that they're going to be a dad can make any guy sweat - but Emmerdale actor Jay Kontzle admits he was "dripping" after wife Mimi told him they were expecting baby number three.

"Mimi called me during my lunch break on set and told me," says the 31-year-old, who plays Billy Fletcher in the ITV soap.

"I was sitting eating lunch in the sun and all of a sudden I went hot and started dripping with sweat. I was a bit shocked!" he goes on, laughing.

"Before that, Mimi had said she wanted to get a pregnancy test and I said, 'A pregnancy test? That's a lot of money that, especially with the cost of living going up.' Then I was in work and she decided to throw a spanner in the works over lunch!"

Mimi, 32, laughs about telling Jay over the phone, "I rang him and said, 'You're never going to guess what? I'm pregnant!' He replied, 'You're not!' And I said, 'I am!"

"She was so casual - and there I was sweating!" adds Jay.

And artist Mimi, who is due at the end of November, admits she had actually been joking with Jay about having another child ahead of her revelation. "I'd been winding Jay up for months before, saying I really wanted another child - but his answer was always no," she says. "So I think that made me want another one more, basically just to be spiteful. But then it kind of backfired and I did end up getting pregnant. I don't have a regular period anyway but I was late and I knew something was up, so I did a test. I was shocked it was positive but it's a nice surprise and we know we're lucky to be having another child. We're excited and it's a blessing."

"It's a great thing to be going through again," Jay says. "I think it's just the fact that we got to an age with our other two where they're old enough and there's no nappies and bottles, and we got our sleep back.